I Wonder What It's Like
by Sarcastic Nightmare
Summary: Hinata has always been quiet and shy. She's never been the most popular, but she's now at the bottom of the food chain and a bit of a loner. She is stuck with no friends, and a popular cousin. What happens when this loner meets another. AU, set in HS
1. Chapter 1

Hinata glanced around the cafeteria. She hated this part of the day, finding a lunch table was almost always impossible. She was on the bottom of the food chain and she knew it. She found it weird since her cousin was one of the most popular people in school. Most of the time when she walked anywhere near a table, someone would put their bags on the empty chairs, hoping she would just walk away. Hinata let out a sigh and glanced outside and made her mind up quickly. She walked past every table to the doors that led to the courtyard. They all talked about how she was a quiet little weakling. How she couldn't do anything. They made fun of the fact that she often stuttered when she spoke.

She walked out to where her favorite tree was and sat at the base of it. Hinata pulled her hoodie off and then dug around in her backpack until she found her bento box. She opened it and smiled softly. She loved cooking, and preferred her food over the disgusting cafeteria food. She pulled out her chopsticks and began eating. She closed her eyes and tried to think of the last time she actually had a friend. She felt a tear slide down her cheek when she realized that she was a junior in high school and her last friend was in sixth grade. She looked up when she heard Naruto talking with her old friend, Kiba. They were talking about throwing a football back and forth.

She looked back towards her food and felt upset when she heard Naruto ask who she was. "Don't worry about it," Kiba said in a quiet voice. "No one really knows much about her," Naruto nodded with a shrug and the two went back to throwing the football around. Hinata let out a deep sigh and stood up when she was finished. After packing all of her things back into her bag, she was excited when the bell rang. Finally the horrible period was over. She went to her next class and kept herself distracted. At the end of the day she began her walk home. Hinata walked slowly as Neji zoomed by with TenTen in the passenger seat. His car was followed by Naruto with Sakura in his passenger seat. And Naruto's car was followed by Sasuke's car. She rolled her eyes knowing that all of them would be in her living room when she got home.

About half an hour later, she had finally made it home. Hinata sighed as she also noticed Ino's car in the driveway. She walked in and noticed Kiba with his arm around Ino. She tried not to wince as all of their gazes came to her when she came in. She turned to Neji. "Is Hanabi or Father home?" When he shook his head, she nodded and walked into the kitchen. She cleaned her bento box out and pulled out her books and homework. She heard a couple of people walk in, and looked up to see Sakura and Ino walk in. Hinata wasn't too shocked to hear them gossiping. "The new kid is so quiet. And he seems weird," Sakura stated as Ino opened the fridge to grab something to drink.

"Right? All he does is sit there and stare. And when he's not doing that, he's drawing on some sketch pad or reading," She admitted with a look of disgust on her face. Hinata rolled her eyes at their rudeness. "I think they said he's from Suna, that city is full of weirdoes, so we shouldn't be surprised," Sakura nodded as Ino smiled.

Hinata finished her homework and walked up to her bedroom. She laid on her bed and turned on her iHome hoping the music would make up for the fact that she was alone. Hinata closed her eyes and ended up falling asleep. She woke up the next morning to her alarm going off at five. She got up quickly and turned it off. She took a quick shower and after brushing her hair, she pulled it into a ponytail. She brushed her teeth and walked downstairs to make breakfast for everyone. Her father, Neji and Hanabi all came down at six to find Hinata setting out a platter with pancakes on it, there were already two plates out with sausage and bacon available. The four sat to breakfast and then Neji drove Hanabi to her school and dropped Hinata off a block away from their school. The two had made a deal about it in the beginning of the year.

"Why does he do that?" Hinata jumped when she heard the voice. She turned around to see Gaara, the new student standing there with one foot on his skateboard. "I mean it's not like the school is too far," He raised an eyebrow as she played with her hands.

"It's not good for his image," She muttered and was shocked to see him roll his eyes. "I'm Hinata by the way," She smiled shyly as she offered him her hand. Gaara took it with a small smile of his own.

"My name is Gaara, but with all the rumors going around and shit… You probably already knew that," Hinata nodded. "But yeah, he's a jerk for doing this to you. So what if his image is ruined. He shouldn't treat family like that," Gaara told her with a frown on his face. "I'd offer you a ride but I can't really fit more than one person," He chuckled while gesturing to his skateboard. "But I'd be more than happy to walk with you," Hinata smiled.

"I would love your company," Gaara smiled and nodded. In one move he had used the foot that was on the skateboard to flip it up. In a swift movement he had it in his hand and then put it under his right arm. The two walked towards Konoha High with small smiles on their faces. Gaara was interested in Hinata's story and she was interested in finding out more about him as well.

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A/n: This was originally going to be a oneshot, but I kinda want to see where this goes. Thanks for reading, I would really appreciate some feedback on this.

Katie


	2. Chapter 2

Hinata sat in her class and tried to focus. She had been expecting the week to go as all of her weeks went by, slow and boring. She never expected someone to come along and change all of that, well at least for today anyway. For once she wasn't dreading her lunch period. She looked down at her notebook to see she had completely ignored the teacher and doodled all over her notes page. Luckily the bell rang and she was free to leave. She put her notebook away and walked out of the room. She walked into the cafeteria and looked around.

A part of her thought it was all imaginary. And she wouldn't see Gaara and would just be making a fool of herself. She glanced around and felt her hopes crumble when she didn't see the red head. She dropped her gaze to the floor and let out a small sigh. Someone tapped her shoulder and she turned to see Gaara looking at her. "Hi," He frowned at the look on her face.

"Uh, hi," She smiled softly. "Where do you usually eat lunch?" Gaara shrugged and walked towards a table in the back. Hinata followed silently and stopped when Gaara pulled out a chair for her. "Thanks," She smiled shyly as she felt a blush creep up on her cheeks. The only time anyone pulled out her seat for her was when she was with her dad at some fancy restaurant. Or at home when the servants did so. He nodded and sat down next to her.

Hinata him as he pulled out a sketch book and opened it to an unfinished picture. She watched him sketch for a couple of minutes before pulling out her lunch box. She opened it and pulled out her chop sticks. "Um," She bit her lip nervously. She hadn't had a real conversation with anyone in five years. "Do…Don't you eat lunch?" Gaara looked up and frowned at her.

"Why do you stutter so much? Do I intimidate you or something?" Hinata turned red and shook her head. "And no, I don't usually eat lunch unless my brother forces me. My sister usually just scolds me over the phone," Hinata looked at him with a curious expression. "My dad still works in Suna, he thought we'd be better off at this school so he transferred my brother and I to Konoha, Temari, my sister goes to college so he couldn't ship her off," Hinata nodded and went back to eating her lunch quietly.

"Do you eat breakfast and dinner, at least?" Gaara shrugged. Sometimes he did, sometimes he didn't. It all depended on what was going on at the apartment. Hinata frowned and looked in his eyes, praying that he was joking. He looked over at her curiously and seemed shocked by her anger. "It's not really good for you to be skipping meals," Gaara shrugged once more.

"My brother can't cook, and I don't always have time to make something for dinner. We have cereal so I do eat breakfast, most of the time," Gaara admitted trying to calm Hinata slightly. She sighed and nodded. She doubted he would take her words seriously any way, he probably didn't even know she existed until this morning.

Gaara frowned at her response. He was expecting more of a fight from her. "So how long have you been getting left behind?" He asked smoothly. She gasped and looked at him wide-eyed. "I mean I usually see you by yourself everywhere. And I assume your 'friend' or whoever that was has been doing it for at least all of this year," Hinata blushed out of embarrassment but was happy he couldn't see the sadness in her eyes as she looked at her lunch. She mumbled a response and started playing with her food. Gaara sighed before asking her to repeat. "I'm sorry, I couldn't hear you," Hinata glanced up and noted that he looked sincere.

"Since sixth grade," She looked back down to continue playing with her food. "No one's ever really seen me as anything more than a friend, or someone to get answers from. And in sixth grade, my last friend got more interested in the girls on the cheerleading team and getting their attention than me. So he said his goodbyes and that was it," She played with a chopstick in her right hand and kept her eyes trained on what was left of her food.

"That's horrible," Gaara looked at her, hoping she would look up again. "If it makes you feel better… I haven't really had a real friend… Ever," He cringed at how pathetic that sounded. Hinata glanced up with a curious look and he let out a deep sigh. "My dad is Kazekage and no one wants to associate with his kids because it could cause them problems later on," Gaara found himself gripping his pencil tightly. He had never told anyone that. He hadn't even told his sister about that being the reason he never brought friends home. Everyone avoided him and treated him like he was some kind of monster.

Hinata felt a strange connection to Gaara. She swallowed the lump in her throat and spoke softly. "It kind of sounds how I was treated. A lot of people wouldn't talk to me because of my father. They all treated me like I was some kind of porcelain doll," She blew her bangs out of her face. "Kiba and Shino were the only ones who treated me like a person. Shino went to a different middle school, and then went on some entomology internship freshman year, he won't be back until next year. And Kiba… Well," She sighed and glanced at the table where the top of the popularity food chain sat. "He's popular, and I'm not," She glanced back down at her hands.

Gaara frowned. "I hate that everything is set around cliques," Hinata glanced up at him, shocked. "I mean, I guarantee you that some of the people at that table are complete and utter fakers. I guarantee you that they all have their own dirty secrets, and secret _**dorky **_pleasures. It's ridiculous that people only notice you if you dress in designer clothes or are the star of some sort of team," He groaned the more he thought about it. "It's complete bullshit."

Hinata smiled and nodded. "I've always thought that. Kiba actually mentioned something at one point. 'If you dressed differently, and wore your hair down every once in awhile… People wouldn't treat you as badly as they do.'" Hinata let out a deep sigh. "He doesn't understand that I want people to treat me a certain way because of me. Not because of how I look or what I do," She bit her lip realizing that probably didn't make much sense.

"I know what you mean. You should be treated because of the way you act and how you are, not what you do or what you wear," Gaara stated. Hinata smiled and nodded. "I don't think the people here will realize that any time soon," Hinata gave a small, sad smile.

"Then it's their loss."

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A/n: Alright, so after boring myself into typing more of this... Here's chapter 2! Someone commented on how Gaara was a little OOC, but I'm not trying to write Gaara exactly like the anime/manga. It's a completely different story/universe sort of. So I know he talks a little too much to be Gaara but he is. Thanks for reading and please let me know if you like it and want me to continue it.

Katie


	3. Chapter 3

Hinata smiled as she thought about the new friend she had made a few days ago. Hinata's smile only grew when she realized her family would be shocked to see that she wouldn't be following her usual Saturday schedule. Every Saturday since sixth grade, she had stayed in and done homework. She would do random chores but would never go anywhere unless asked to. She made breakfast and set the table. She sat in her usual spot and picked at her breakfast as her father spoke with Neji and Hanabi, acting as if she wasn't even there.

After breakfast, she quickly cleaned up and walked back upstairs to a bathroom to take a shower and get ready. She pulled on her jeans and a black tank top. She pulled on her favorite hoodie and brushed out her hair. She grabbed her messenger bag and tucked her wallet, phone and keys in it. Hinata glanced at the mirror one last time. She took a deep breath and walked down the stairs. She looked up when she heard something drop and noticed Neji picking up his phone. He looked over at her with wide eyes, Hinata smiled shyly and walked into the living room. "Father, I'm going out for awhile. I have my cell phone if you need me. Goodbye," She walked out of the room before he could say anything. She walked out the front door and began walking. After about half an hour of walking, she had managed to get to the café that Gaara asked her to meet him at.

He wasn't hard to spot in the corner booth. She walked over and sat across from him. "Hello Hinata," He looked up from his sketch and gave her one of his pretty rare smiles. She smiled in response as he went back to his sketch. "Do you want anything while we're here or?" She glanced over to see he had looked up again and was looking at her questioningly.

"No, I just ate," She admitted. "So what are we going to do today?" She smiled as Gaara closed his sketchbook. He looked her in the eye and frowned in thought. She was about to say something when he began to smirk.

"Wanna go see a movie? I mean it's supposed to rain anyway," Hinata nodded without a second thought and stood up. Gaara soon followed suit. She followed him outside and walked with him towards what she assumed was his car. She wasn't expecting for him to walk past the car and make his way to a motorcycle. She looked up at him wide-eyed. "Nervous?" His devilish smirk found its way back onto his face. She swallowed and nodded slightly as he tucked his sketchbook and pen into one of the two compartments he had. He looked down at her and tightened the strap on her bag so that it was hugging her tightly and got onto the motorcycle. When she didn't move, he handed her his helmet and waited patiently as she put it on.

She got on behind Gaara and was about to ask him something when his voice broke through her train of thoughts. "Hold on tight," She nodded and wrapped her arms around him and rested her head on his shoulder as he started the motorcycle and got going. She felt her arms tighten around him even more when they picked up speed. She felt a smile come to her lips as they passed Kiba, Naruto and Sasuke. Gaara parked his bike and the two got off and headed into the theater. "So what do you want to see?" He asked her as Naruto, Sasuke and Kiba came closer. Hinata shrugged and looked up at the list of movies.

"Is that… Hinata?" They turned hearing Naruto's voice. Sasuke and Kiba seemed to be in shock as well. Hinata turned back to the list of movies and smiled as she made up her mind.

"Wanna see Toy Story 3 or maybe the new Twilight movie? Those are always good for a good laugh," She told him with a slight roll of her eyes. Gaara chuckled and nodded. "So which one?"

"Well Kankuro wants to see Toy Story 3, so why don't we see Eclipse," He told her as the two walked up to the ticket counter. "Two for Eclipse, please," He paid the woman and the two walked in and got popcorn and something to drink.

"We have to see what's going on between them. It should be amusing," Naruto stated trying to get Kiba and Sasuke to agree. The two looked at him skeptically. Both looked ready to gauge his eyes out.

"There is no way in hell that I'm going to be seen in that theater," Sasuke said as he pointed to the heading with the word Eclipse shining brightly. Kiba nodded his head in agreement as Naruto pouted. Right when he thought all hope was lost, Sakura, Ino and Ino's cousin walked in the doors.

"What if they come with? Then it won't look so bad," Naruto reasoned with an innocent smile on his face. Sasuke and Kiba caved when the girls asked nicely as well. And within minutes, the six were sitting in the theater two rows behind Gaara and Hinata.

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A/N: Sorry for the shortness and for the random movie, I saw it the other day with my friend and figured that way I would know some of what I was talking about rather than skip over it like it never happened. Also I would like to apologize about the wait, I have fallen in love with Ouran High School Host club and was watching the season on DVD. Soooo good. Anyway thanks for reading and let me know what you guys think please. Oh and thanks for all the faves and story alerts! =D

Katie


	4. Chapter 4

A/n: First I would like to warn that there may be slight spoilers from Eclipse in the following chapter. I'm not going to get into it completely, but they will most likely be making fun of certain parts. Thanks again for all the faves, story alerts and reviews! I would also like to apologize for using Eclipse once more. I'm not really a huge Twilight fan, but it's the only movie I've seen recently and I didn't want to choose some random movie.

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Gaara glanced over at Hinata as the two exited the theater to see tears in her eyes and a look of disbelief on her face. "What's wrong?" He said it so quiet she almost didn't hear it. When her eyes met his, she let out a laugh.

"It was just so… Bad. I mean come on, what kind of romance is that? And who would fall for him? Rob Pattinson is weird," She shook her head. "And that actress is so emotionless… Who in their right mind would hire her?" Hinata let out a laugh and held her ribs. Gaara nodded and she bit her lip to keep from laughing at his serious expression.

"I would have chosen Jacob myself," He told her with a joking look in his eyes. Hinata shook her head and smacked his arm lightly. "Yeah, that was definitely a waste of money. I'm sorry," He apologized with a laugh. Hinata shook her head and gave him a soft smile.

"I should be apologizing. Maybe we should have seen that new Ashton Kutcher movie instead. I didn't even see it there… It would have been a better waste of money. 'Killers' seemed kind of interesting," She shrugged and gave him an apologetic smile. "I am so sorry for wasting two to three hours of your life. It was never ending… We should have just walked out," She added with a giggle.

Gaara nodded and shook his head. They paused by the door and glanced out the window to see if it had started to rain yet. She smiled as she watched the rain fall down and form puddles. "I love it when it rains," She admitted softly as Gaara looked over to see her smile. "It's so peaceful," Gaara nodded and glanced back as he heard a groan. Naruto, Sasuke and Kiba were walking ahead of three girls. He only recognized Sakura and Ino, and noticed another girl with them and shrugged it off.

The girls were babbling excitedly about the stupid movie and Naruto cringed at the death glares Kiba and Sasuke were shooting him. "How many times can I say I'm sorry?" He asked with a groan. Kiba clenched his teeth and punched Naruto in the arm.

"Not enough. I feel like I lost brain cells watching that movie. All the horrible acting, and the stupid scenes. Especially the scene where she's trying to take her clothes off. No guy says no to that! What the hell?" He rolled his eyes as Naruto sighed. Sasuke agreed, although he would never vocalize that thought.

"The fight scenes were kinda cool?" Naruto asked trying his best to find something that could be considered a good part of the movie. When he realized he could find none, he sighed and held his hands up. "I know… I know. I deserve to have the shit beat out of me," Sasuke smirked at the invitation as Kiba just punched Naruto in the arm again. Much harder than the first time. Naruto glared at Kiba and rubbed his arm.

"Hey… Isn't that Gaara and the Hyuuga girl?" Ino's cousin asked with a curious expression on her face. The five other peoples' heads snapped up and glanced over. "She's pretty," Ino's cousin, Akiko mentioned with a small smile on her face. Everyone stared at her for a moment until they heard Gaara speak.

"If you want we can wait it out here," He was looking straight at Hinata as he spoke. She smiled at his politeness and then shook her head. "Alright, would you like me to take you home… Or?" Hinata once again shook her head. "We could hang out at my house, but it's a mess since Kankuro doesn't know how to clean up after himself," Hinata shrugged. Anywhere but home sounded like a good idea. "Oh, and you can meet Temari, she came to check up on me," He chuckled softly. Hinata smiled and then looked at the door with a determined look.

"Well, it's now or never," Gaara nodded in agreement and the two opened the doors and headed to the parking lot. Hinata smiled when they stopped by his bike. He handed her his helmet and got on first. When she was done putting the helmet on, she got on and wrapped her arms around his torso. Within the next five minutes they were on the road and headed for his father's Konoha house.

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"I… I can't believe that out of all the people he would make friends with… It would be a freak like Hinata," Sakura mumbled as Ino nodded. Naruto looked back at them with a frown as Kiba clenched his fists angrily. Even if he hadn't been a good friend to her as of recent years, he did still care about her. He growled under his breath as Naruto scolded the two.

"What do you know about her anyway? Have you taken the chance to talk to her and get to know her? Or is she just a freak because she's smart and keeps to herself?" Naruto asked trying not to let his anger get the best of him. Sakura gasped, she hadn't seen Naruto get so angry about her and Ino being rude in awhile. The last time he'd gotten that angry, they had made a comment about his cousin, not knowing she was his cousin. They shook it off and shrugged.

"It's not like she's letting us get to know her," Sakura tried to defend their actions. Naruto scoffed and shook his head as Kiba walked away so he wouldn't hit anyone or anything. Sasuke was shocked that Naruto had been able to put up a good argument, and even more shocked that he hadn't noticed that the subject of the argument had come and gone.

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Gaara pulled into his garage and turned off his motorcycle. Hinata released her grip on his upper body and got off of the bike as he put the kickstand down. He got off and shook his hair, sending little droplets of water everywhere. Hinata giggled as she pulled his helmet off and handed it to him. "Well that was fun," She told him while referring to the ride over. He shrugged and smiled as he hit the button to close the garage door. He opened the door connecting to the garage and walked in, holding it open for Hinata to walk through.

She glanced around the hallway she had stepped into and smiled and how it felt more homey than the hallways back at her own home. She shook off her random sad thoughts and followed Gaara into a living room that seemed to be never-ending. The huge room had a few windows that gave a look at the front yard. There was a huge entertainment center with a big flat screen TV. She took the towel Gaara offered her and wrapped it around her to warm up and continued looking around the room. There were video game systems hooked up to the TV, a cabinet that had many video games and DVDs, a stereo, a large comfy looking sofa, a comfy looking recliner and a coffee table. She could only guess how much this room alone cost. "Wow."

"Yeah, dad wanted us to stay entertained while he had meetings with important people. The walls are actually sound proof too," He said with a chuckle. Hinata looked up at him and tilted her head to the side. "Oh, I said you'd meet my sister. She's probably making something in the kitchen. Let's go," He took her hand without a thought and lead her towards the kitchen.

Hinata swallowed the lump in her throat as she noticed the little shock that went up her arm as he took her hand in his. She felt her cheeks heat up and looked at the floor as he lead her to his kitchen. She shook away the thoughts. When she looked up again, they were in a beautiful kitchen, and there was a girl standing in front of the freezer looking on in disgust. She had blonde hair down to just past her shoulders and was in a purple t-shirt and black jeans. "Is this all they eat?" She grumbled to herself sounding irritable.

"Hey Temari," Gaara greeted with a smile on his face. The girl turned and walked over with a bright smile on her face too.

"Hey Gaara. Is this all you guys eat?" She gestured to various frozen dinners. Gaara shrugged before looking up at Temari with a deadly serious expression on his face.

"You've eaten Kankuro's cooking right? You'd rather I went back to that?" Temari cringed and shook her head. "And we both know I can only cook out of boxes so, yes frozen meals are all we eat," He stated with a small smile on his face. Temari shook her head and gave a sad smile.

"I just wish you still lived close enough to run some food over when I wanted to. Oh well, guess I'll just have to make you dinner tonight to make up for it," She said with a chuckle before finally noticing Hinata. "Oh Gaara," She smiled happily. "Who is this?" She walked over to Hinata and offered the girl her hand.

"This is Hinata Hyuuga, she goes to Konoha high with me," Temari nodded and smiled at the girl, very happy that Gaara had been able to make at least one friend.

"I'm Temari Sabaku, his older sister," She said as she pointed at Gaara. Hinata smiled and shook Temari's hand with a small smile.

"As he said, I'm Hinata," She smiled shyly before she let curiosity get the best of her. "What are you going to make for dinner?" Temari shrugged before getting a knowing smirk on her face.

"You like cooking?" Hinata nodded with a small smile.

"I don't get to cook very often. My father usually has our chef make something, and then I clean up," She said with a frown on her face. She had once been scolded for making breakfast and glanced away from Temari feeling upset.

Temari frowned as well and shook her head. "Why don't you help me make dinner. We can talk and Gaara can go find Kankuro," Temari stated as she smiled sweetly at Gaara. Gaara frowned and rolled his eyes before nodding and walking out of the kitchen, and leaving the two girls alone to talk.

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A/n: Alright, hope this makes up for the last chapter. Let me know what you guys think and thanks for reading!

Katie


	5. Chapter 5

A/n: Just a quick note. Thank you so much for all the reviews. Out of every story I've written, I don't think I've ever gotten 8 reviews on one chapter! So thanks again! And I hope you enjoy this chapter! =D

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Temari smiled at Hinata and waved her over. "So what are we making?" She asked quietly as she walked over. Temari gestured to the cookbook behind her and watched as Hinata glanced over the recipe and looked up with a smile. "This sounds really good," Temari smiled and nodded as she pulled the chicken breasts out of the refrigerator. "So, should I turn on the broiler?"

Temari nodded and the two got to work on the Chicken Parmesan. Within an hour the food was done, the table was set and the four were sitting at the table silently. "So, you're Gaara's friend?" Kankuro asked nervously as Temari resisted the urge to smack her forehead. Hinata nodded and gave a weak smile. She wouldn't admit it to Gaara but his brother was creeping her out. "So how did Gaara become friends with such a pretty girl?" He asked with a slight smirk on his face.

Hinata stared down at her plate and played with her food. Her cheeks flushed red in embarrassment. "Kankuro, leave her alone," Temari told him sternly and then gestured for him to look over at Gaara who looked ready to strangle his brother. Kankuro immediately shut up and stayed quiet through the rest of dinner.

As they finished, Gaara began to take the dirty dishes into the kitchen. Hinata stood up quickly and took her plate into the kitchen as well to get away from the awkward silence in the dining room. She walked back out with Gaara and helped him gather the rest of the dishes from the table. She started rinsing them off as Gaara put the left over noodles and sauce in a container. "So your sister is nice," She stated so softly he almost didn't hear it.

He chuckled and spoke quietly. "I know my brother isn't the greatest. And Temari is good at being liked," He gave her a small smile and put the container in his fridge. "So would you like to go home now?" Hinata sighed and nodded. She didn't really have any other choice, if she didn't come home at all, her father would freak out and find more reasons to disown her.

The two finished cleaning and Gaara stuck his head into the dining room. "I'll be back in a little while," He called to his siblings. He walked with Hinata to the garage and headed for his bike. Hinata put her hand on his shoulder and he looked back at her with a curious look.

"If you take me home on that… My dad will completely freak out. Is there any way you could take me home in something a little less… 'dangerous?'" She asked with a shy smile. Gaara nodded and pulled his phone out of his pocket, he sent a quick text to his brother and grabbed the extra key to his brother's jeep and unlocked the doors.

"Better?" He asked with a slight smile.

"Much," She admitted with a small smile. Gaara walked over to the passenger side of the jeep and opened the door for her. She blushed and smiled, "Thank you," Gaara nodded and closed the door when Hinata was safely seated inside. Gaara walked over to the driver's side and opened the garage. He started the car and pulled out of the driveway just as Kankuro ran out of the house screaming for him to stop.

Gaara laughed as Hinata looked over at him with an eyebrow raised questioningly. "I just sent him a text saying that I was borrowing his jeep. I didn't really ask," Hinata nodded with a giggle as she gave him directions on how to get to her home. Gaara turned on the radio and turned the volume up. Hinata smiled as one of her favorite rock songs came on. Gaara smiled at the way she was bopping her head to the music and mouthing the words. He watched her expression go from happy to sad as he pulled into her driveway.

"Well, I'll see you at school on Monday. This was fun," Hinata smiled as she let herself out of the jeep. She was about to walk away when Gaara's voice stopped her.

"Wait! Let me see your cell phone," Hinata gave him a strange look but passed it to him anyways. He rolled his eyes at the look as he put his number into her cell phone and handed it back to her. "Shoot me a text later. Make sure I'm still sane after having to deal with Temari and Kankuro for the rest of the day," He gave a small smile at her laugh.

"Will do. See you Monday," Gaara nodded and gave her the cell phone back. He waved as she ran up the sidewalk to the front door of the mansion. She had been surprised their 'houses' were so close to one another. She walked in the front door and took off her wet hoodie. She pulled off her shoes and put them in the tray next to the door and headed up to her room to change out of her clothes and into her pajamas. She pulled her hair into a loose ponytail and sat on her bed. She had forgotten what it felt like to really smile. She hadn't realized how much she missed smiling until today.

She took a deep breath and laid on her bed staring at the ceiling. She closed her eyes and hummed softly to herself, truly content. Too bad it was not to be. She sat up when she heard two quick raps on her door. "Come in," She replied quietly as she sat back up. Her father walked in and explained he would be going to a business lunch and then to some kind of business party and would not be home tomorrow. He went on to tell her that Neji was going to have friends over and that she should stay home and keep her sister company. He also explained that he had given the maids and other servants the day off and it would be nice of her to clean and do some other little chores around the house when she had the time. "Yes, Father. I hope your meetings go well tomorrow," She stated politely. She knew he would never ask Neji to do this, nor would he ask her sister, whom he considered a better heir to the family company.

She rolled her eyes the moment the door was closed. He was crazy if he thought she wanted the stupid family company. She let out a deep sigh and pulled out her cell phone. She set an alarm for seven thirty AM and sent Gaara a text asking if he was still sane. She felt another rare smile make its way to her lips as her cell phone vibrated no longer than a minute later.

'_That depends on what you consider sane,' _She laughed softly as she hit reply.

'_You'll have to check on my sanity after tomorrow. Neji is having friends over and I get to clean,' _Hinata sighed once again. That's all she was good for in her father's eyes. She wouldn't be surprised if he was trying to arrange some kind of marriage for her. Anything to send her away and make use of her. She rubbed at her temple trying to ease the headache she could sense coming.

The next text brought a bigger smile to her face. '_I wish you luck. Maybe on Monday I can find a way to cheer you up. Can't wait for Monday… Freedom from families and a boring day at school! =) Good Night Hinata.'_

_

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A/n: _As always, thank you for reading. Hope I met expectations, next chapter will be Neji's little get together with friends from school... Poor Hinata. I find Kankuro kind of creepy sometimes, so that kind of played a part in this chapter. Anyways enough with my random blathering, thanks again for reading. Please let me know what you think, I always love reading thoughts on what's going to happen next and thoughts on the story so far! (I hope that made sense, lol)

Katie


	6. Chapter 6

Hinata woke up to her alarm going off. She groaned and sat up. She turned it off and headed to the bathroom to take a shower before starting on the random chores her dad had assigned her. She turned the water on and looked in the mirror, she frowned at the unhappy look she saw in her eyes. She decided to change that and turned on the CD player in the corner of the room. She rolled her eyes at the random song that started off the mix CD Hanabi had made for her. She nodded her head at the Breaking Benjamin song that was on after.

She walked into the shower and spent fifteen minutes washing her body and hair. She spent the next five minutes shaving her legs and finishing up other shower activities. She turned the water off and dried off, quickly getting dressed in some sweats. She brushed through her wet hair and threw it up in a pony tail and turned off the CD played. After brushing her teeth she wandered down to the kitchen to have breakfast. With her father being gone, she had full access to the kitchen and would be able to make her own breakfast, which pleased her greatly. She made an omlet and some bacon and wasn't too shocked when the smell attracted Hanabi and Neji. Both members of her family staring at her plate hungrily.

"I'd make you breakfast. But I have to clean," She stated with a warm smile. Knowing full well that her father hadn't asked either of them to do anything while he was away. Neji rolled his eyes and went to grab whatever was available as Hanabi grabbed the nearest box of cereal. Hinata finished her breakfast and went to work on the list of chores Hiashi had left on her door. She emptied the dishwasher in a few minutes and began to vacuum the areas he had specified.

When all the vacuuming was done she took a break to go to her room and grab her iPod. What was the point of cleaning in silence… or worse, having to listen to Hanabi and Neji grumble about her not making them breakfast? She put her headphones in and headed off to Hiashi's office to begin straightening things out in there. She hummed along to the music playing as she worked. If she was lucky, she would be done before two and could find something more entertaining to do.

She sighed as she began dusting his bookshelves. When she was done in his office, she headed to the garden to pull weeds and water the flowers. She checked her list and went on to clean the pool and check chemicals. The last chore on her list was to straighten up the living room before Neji's friends started showing up. She growled under her breath but went to get the job done. As soon as she stepped into the living room area, she smiled. The song that came on was one of her favorites. She couldn't help but sing along. Little did she know, Neji had just opened the front door and let in the people who were going to be causing her nightmare.

"Am I going insane? My blood is boiling inside of my veins. An evil feeling attacks. My body's shaking. There's no turning back. So take your eyes off the trigger. I'm not to blame if your world turns to black. As your eyes start to blister. There's just no hope for a final embrace. So here we are. I'm in your head, I'm in your heart! You were told to run away. Soak the place and light the flame. Pay the price for your betrayal. Your betrayal. Your betrayal. I was told to stay away. Those two words I can't obey. Pay the price for your betrayal. Your betrayal, your betrayal," Hinata took a deep breath as she straightened the couch cushions.

"Who is that singing?" Naruto asked as he walked in. Sasuke, Kiba, Sakura, Ino, TenTen, and Rock Lee followed suit. They all looked interested in his answer. They were shocked to hear Hanabi answer.

"That's Hinata," She walked into the living room with the small group following. Sure enough, Hinata was cleaning off the coffee table and singing along to her headphones, completely oblivious of fact that she now had an audience.

"Is it my turn to die? My heart is pounding as I say goodbye. So now I dance in the flames. I love you crying and screaming my name. You said that we'd be forever. How could you kill me and lie to my face. Now that we can't be together. There's just no hope for a final embrace. So here we are. I'm in your head, I'm in your heart. You were told to run away. Soak the place and light the flame. Pay the price for your betrayal. Your betrayal, your betrayal. I was told to stay away. Those two words I can't obey. Pay the price for your betrayal, your betrayal. Your betrayal," She turned around and her eyes widened. She pulled out her headphones and hit pause. She was about to speak when Sakura spoke first.

"Ah, so you do the cleaning," She smiled sweetly although there was an edge in her voice and it was meant to be rude. Hinata was about to say something when she heard her phone ringing. 'I am not afraid to keep on living. I am not afraid to walk this world alone. Honey if you stay, I'll be forgiving. Nothing you could say could stop me going home.'

"Hello," She asked promptly stopping 'Famous Last Words' from playing. "Hi," She stated with a warm smile when she realized who it was. "I just finished cleaning. No not really. I was just planning to read and listen to music. If you really need to hide from them… Sure, we could watch a movie or something," She smiled happily. "See you in a few," She hung her phone up and walked out of the room, completely forgetting Sakura's rude comment.

Hinata made her way back to her room and went searching through her closet and dresser. She pulled her hair out of it's ponytail and ran her fingers through it. She pulled off her sweatshirt and pulled on an Avenged Sevenfold t-shirt instead. She threw her sweatpants in the hamper and pulled on her favorite pair of jeans. She tucked her iPod and headphones in her front pocket and slipped on her favorite pair of black ballet flats. She glanced in the mirror and walked out of her room confidently. Something she hadn't done in years.

She made her way downstairs and back through the living room just as she heard someone pull into the driveway. Sure enough, a moment later she got a text telling her he was at her house. She opened the door and smiled as Gaara walked up. "So I don't know how much better it will be here with all the people here… But if you think it'll be better than with Temari and Kankuro, it's your death wish," She stated in a polite, happy tone.

"Nice to see you too," Gaara chuckled and shook his head. He raised his eyebrow at Hinata, waiting for her to invite him in. She laughed at the expectant look on his face.

"Come on in," She backed out of the doorway to allow him into the Hyuga estate. She smiled as he walked in and looked around. "So do you wanna see the house or?" Gaara shrugged at her question in an 'it's entirely up to you,' fashion. "Have you eaten lunch yet?" She asked glancing at the nearest clock. He shook his head no, so she grabbed his arm lightly and led him to the kitchen. She turned in the doorway to call into the living room. "Hanabi, if you want lunch, I'll make you something," She turned back in and wandered over to the fridge to see what they had. "So any idea on what you want?" She turned back to Gaara who walked over to look into the fridge as well.

"How about ham and cheese?" He laughed at the look on her face. "I haven't had a good sandwich in awhile… Please?" He looked over at her with a pout. Hinata laughed and shrugged as she pulled out miracle whip, ham, cheese, tomato, lettuce and mustard. She pulled the bread down from where it was as Hanabi walked in.

"You know they're all eavesdropping on you right?" She asked looking up at her older sister. Hinata nodded as Hanabi asked for a sandwich as well. Within ten minutes, Hinata had the three sandwiches made and had pulled their chips out to offer to Gaara and Hanabi. After cleaning up and putting everything away, she sat down with the other two to eat.

"This is Gaara. Gaara this is Hanabi, my little sister," Hinata explained before she took her first bite. Gaara greeted Hanabi politely. The three talked about random items of interest. Hinata had learned a little more about Gaara's favorites, and he had learned a little more about her favorites.

Hanabi smiled at the two and thanked Hinata. She quickly made an excuse to leave the two alone and walked out of the kitchen. "So what next?" Hinata asked Gaara with a warm smile.

"I'm kind of happy right here. I want to continue getting to know you."

* * *

A/n: The only reason I got this up so fast was because I was bored. I've been busy working on a potential Ouran High School Host club story... I may not ever post it though. Only time will tell. Anyway, thanks for reading and let me know what you think. Reviews motivate me really well.

Thanks again!

Katie


	7. Chapter 7

"I still can't believe that with all of us there, he still just sat there with Hinata of all people," Sakura complained to Ino as she pulled into her usual spot. Ino nodded in agreement as they walked to their usual morning spot. Sasuke, Neji and TenTen were already standing there. "I mean, he's the Kazekage's son… And he's only interested in that loner," She shook her head as they reached the three.

"Hey guys," Ino smiled and waved at the three. They returned her smile and wave. "Sakura was just going on and on about how Sabaku hung out with Hinata all of yesterday," The three nodded with similar looks of interest on their faces. The attention went from Sakura's irritated look to Kiba and Naruto's argument as they walked up.

"No way dude. I think Shino could totally kick your ass," Naruto told him with a laugh in his voice. Kiba grumbled and shot him an evil glare. The group they were headed to merely shook their heads at the argument. It wasn't anything unusual but it was always somewhat amusing until they started throwing fists. Sakura was about to ask when the familiar motorcycle rode up and parked in the spot across from Sakura's pink VW beetle. "Whoa, he got her a helmet," Naruto pointed out as the two got off the motorcycle and pulled off their black helmets.

They shared a smile as the group of popular students stared on. Sakura looked Hinata up and down and had to admit… She looked good. Hinata was wearing dark blue skinny jeans, a white shirt with a heart design and the words 'Love will tear us apart' on the front. She had on a black belt with a heart peace sign buckle and a pair of black, ankle cut Converse. She had on her necklace from before and some red heart earrings. Gaara handed her, her messenger bag and grabbed his own bag.

Ino and Sakura stared at Gaara with a gleam in their eyes. He was looking good as well. He was dressed in a Three Days Grace shirt that was black and red, dark blue jeans held up by a black studded belt, red and black vans, and a black Affliction hoodie. It took a shake to the shoulders from Naruto to snap them out of it. Sakura felt a familiar feeling in the pit of her stomach as Gaara laughed at something Hinata had said. Sakura had never felt jealous of Hinata Hyuga before, other than the fact that everyone had something nice to say about her.

* * *

Hinata smiled at Gaara's laugh. "Thanks for keeping me company yesterday," Gaara rolled his eyes at her comment.

"It wasn't just for you! You were keeping me sane," He laughed as she wrinkled her nose at that statement. "Too much time with Kankuro and Temari is a bad thing," Hinata laughed at his words. She'd prefer his family to her own. She walked with him towards the front doors of Konoha High and voiced her opinion.

"Well, your brother is slightly creepy. But Temari seems sweet. My family is boring. Hanabi is the only one I can stand to be in a room with for longer than a few minutes. Knowing my luck, my father is going to arrange a marriage or something," She let out a deep sigh. It would end up being something like that, or some kind of disowning fiasco. She felt her eyes begin to tear up and immediately looked away from the friendly red head. She didn't want him to see her cry. "Well… Um, I'm gonna get to class. See you at lunch," She spoke softly so her voice wouldn't crack and hurried away leaving Gaara in the hallway confused.

Hinata sat in her class wondering why her father couldn't be like everyone else's dad. He had never been one to believe in her and praise her. He only seemed to see her faults. She'd get an A, he'd ask why it wasn't an A plus like Neji got. Her mother had been her only escape, the only one to praise her as she grew up. She lost that when her mom died. The day her mom died was the day that a part of her soul died. When the teacher gave them silent work time, Hinata put her headphones in and turned on the music as she worked on her class work.

She felt completely drained by lunch. She was about to walk into the cafeteria only to be stopped by Sakura. "You know… You're only going to bring him down. Why else would Kiba leave you?" She asked as she rested one hand on her hip. Hinata rolled her eyes and went to walk around the annoying girl only to have Ino step in her way.

"I don't know why you care. He's just a friend… You have many friends so why is it that you care that I have one friend?" Hinata stood her ground. "Oh wait… I know why it's so important to you… It's because of who he's related to," She shook her head and looked into Sakura's green apple eyes. "I didn't think you were this shallow, Haruno," Hinata stated and walked around Sakura and Ino. She made a beeline for her usual table and sat next to Gaara. She reached into her backpack and pulled out two bento boxes. She offered him one with a smile.

"Thanks… Temari put you up to this?" Hinata shook her head no with a smile. "This stems back to that conversation about not eating lunch… Right?" Hinata nodded, laughing to herself at the look on his face.

"Not eating is bad. Your sister agrees with me and as long as you like what I've made it shouldn't matter, right?" Hinata asked with a knowing glint in her eyes. Gaara nodded with a smile. Hinata smiled as she opened her box and began to eat her lunch.

Gaara opened the other box gently and tried some of it hesitantly. Hinata's face lit up when he continued to eat. "This is really good. You're an amazing cook," He gave her a breath taking smile and continued to eat the lunch. Hinata smiled and finished her lunch. She closed the box and put it back into her backpack. She couldn't help but notice the glare Sakura was sending her way. She rolled her eyes and turned back to Gaara.

"It was really good," He said with a smile as he handed her the box back. She accepted it with a small smile. "When did you learn how to cook?"

Hinata smiled and spoke softly. "My mom taught me when I was young. And when she died, I wanted to continue it," She looked away and bit her lip. Gaara frowned, he had assumed that her parents were just divorced and that's why her mother wasn't around. He put his hand on her shoulder lightly.

"I'm sorry. I had no idea," His voice was soft and smooth. She didn't know what it was about his voice, but it calmed her down. "How long?"

"She died when I was six," Hinata admitted softly. Gaara shocked her when he pulled her to his chest and wrapped his arms around her. He rubbed her back lightly as she rested her head on his shoulder. He felt her bury her face in his shoulder and all he could do was try and comfort her. He felt bad for bringing it up, but it made him realize they had something else in common.

* * *

Sakura crushed her milk carton in her hand when she saw Gaara pull Hinata into a hug. Ino glanced over with a raised eyebrow and followed Sakura's gaze. She tugged on Neji's arm and gestured which soon got the others to look over as well. Neji got a weird look in his eyes as he looked away and went back to talking to TenTen. Sasuke rolled his eyes and went back to working on some homework. Kiba felt his chest ache. He wanted to be the one hugging Hinata. He looked at the floor as he tried to figure out how he would be able to make it up to her.

The more he thought about it, the worse he felt. Sakura poked Kiba when she noticed he was still staring at Hinata. "What's wrong Kiba? It's not like you've never seen Hinata before," She stated with a roll of her eyes. He growled at the way she said Hinata's name and snapped.

"There is nothing wrong with Hinata. She has never done a damn thing to you. So stop talking down on her like she's some sort of bitch," He kept his voice low so only Sakura heard. And the only thing he regretted was the fact that now he'd have to deal with Sakura's bitching for snapping at her.

"Excuse me?" She asked with an evil look on her face. Kiba glared at her just as evilly. The next words he said were laced with venom.

"You heard me," With that said Kiba stood up and walked out of the cafeteria. Hoping that by walking out he would avoid hitting the pink haired bitch.

* * *

After the last classes of the day, Hinata walked to her locker and gathered everything she would need for homework and slammed her locker closed. She walked towards the front doors and wasn't too surprised to be stopped by Sakura again. "You're really just going to end up hurting yourself if you stay friends with him," She told Hinata with a look of pure jealousy on her face.

Hinata took a deep breath to remain calm and then walked away without saying a word. She met Gaara out by his bike and put on the helmet he offered her. They got on and she wrapped her arms around him. Sakura's words ringing through her head. Was Sakura right? Was her friendship with Gaara just going to end in anguish? The person she had been closest with had ended up hurting her… And how much did she really know about the cute redhead? Hinata bit her lip as more questions came to mind. Surely she wouldn't end up losing Gaara too, right?

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A/n: Alright so I've been busy, and haven't been quite sure about how I wanted this chapter. I would also like to thank all the people who reviewed the last chapter. Your reviews mean the world to me! So whatcha think of Kiba's reaction to Sakura's comments? Anyways thank you for reading and let me know what you think!

Special thanks to Kazo Sakamari, ImCutePoison, MochaaxGonexCrazy, champylin, YukinaWinters, Princess Kitana18, Scarlet Rhi, Hiro-san-Hyuuga.

Enjoy!


	8. Chapter 8

Gaara was confused. It had been a week of quiet hellos, and silent lunches. When he did speak to her, she stayed quiet and seemed nervous. She always seemed to be in some kind of deep thought and also had been turning down his offers to drive her home. It was now Saturday and Gaara was determined to find out why the only person he had made friends with was detached and distant.

He woke up and put a couple of toaster waffles down. As he waited for them to pop, he tried to come up with a reason for Hinata's change in attitude. Was it something he had said? Was it something he did? Had he unknowingly insulted her? He had been so deep in his own thoughts that he hadn't heard his waffles pop. He snapped out of his thoughts when he heard Kankuro sit down opposite of him. He looked over to see Kankuro eating his waffles and growled at him. Gaara made himself a couple of new waffles and finished them within a few minutes. He made up a random excuse to go out and pulled on his helmet. He looked over at the helmet he had gotten for her and let out a soft sigh. He had expected changing schools to have been the same as his old school. A school full of idiots and stuck up jerks, little had he known he was going to find someone similar to him. He had never expected to make a friend after transferring from Suna High to Konoha High.

When he opened the garage, he made a decision. He wasn't ready to lose his friend. He started up his bike and headed for the Hyuuga residence with a new resolve. He was not giving in until he knew all hope was lost. When he pulled up to the rather large house, the first thing he noticed was the three cars in the driveway. All three were cars he had seen in the school parking lot. He couldn't recall which students went with each car, but he wasn't sure he wanted to know anyway. The only reason he was there was to talk with Hinata and straighten things out.

He left his helmet with his bike and headed for the front door. He was about to knock when he heard a high pitch squeal, followed by an obnoxious laugh. He rolled his eyes and hoped for the best. He knocked on the door and was strangely relieved when a servant/worker opened the door. "Ah, you must be here for Neji," The woman was quick to assume after taking in his appearance. She opened the door wider and allowed him in and then spoke up once more. "He's in the living room with some of his friends," Gaara lifted his hand and shook his head.

"I'm here for Hinata," The woman looked completely shocked but nodded. She stepped out of his way and gave him directions to Hinata's room. "Thank you," He gave a small smile to the woman and made his way towards Hinata's room. He knocked twice and stood there nervously. He heard Neji asking the woman down the stairs about who was at the door. The minute the woman said it had been someone for Hinata, he heard Neji start asking more questions.

His attention was brought back to the door when Hinata opened it. "Ga…Gaara," She looked confused and bit her lip. Gaara glanced back towards the stairs when he heard some noise. He stared into her eyes and then went back to looking towards the stairs.

"Can we talk in your room," He asked in a whisper. He didn't want to deal with Neji or his friends at the moment. Hinata nodded and let him in. She closed the door behind them and Gaara glanced back at her. He swallowed nervously and was confused at the urge he felt. He shook his head to clear it and looked into her eyes. He felt lost for words.

"What did you want to talk about?" She asked so quiet he almost didn't hear her. He swallowed again and took in a deep breath.

"We're friends, right?" He asked. When she looked over at him with fear in her eyes, he decided to rephrase the question. "I mean, you consider us friends… right?" Hinata bit her lip nervously and played with her fingers. Gaara felt his chest ache, had he imagined the friendship? "Right?" He asked feeling somewhat pathetic. He let out a soft sigh of relief when Hinata finally nodded her head. "Alright, then did I do something wrong?" She could hear the nervous edge in his voice. "Is that why you haven't really talked to me this past week?"

Hinata shook her head and looked at her feet. She felt her eyes tear up as she thought about the conversation with Sakura. "It's not you. It's me… It's always me," She admitted softly. "I always seem to mess things up, and I was stupid to have thought that someone like me could be friends with someone like you," Her voice cracked towards the end and she turned away, not wanting Gaara to see her cry.

Gaara frowned at her words. "What do you mean someone like you?" He watched her take a shuddering breath in and let it out slowly. When she didn't speak up he took a step closer. "Please explain what you meant, I don't understand."

"I mean, you could be at the top of the food chain if you wanted to be. Most of the students here know you're the Kazekage's son and would love to be your friend. And I'm sure a lot of the girls think you're attractive," Hinata explained while keeping her gaze on her toes. "And I'm just the nerdy loner that no one sees," Her voice stayed soft and he had to strain his ears to hear her. He felt his frown deepen at her explanation.

"Hinata," He sighed when he couldn't get her to look at him. "Hinata," He tried again softly. When she wouldn't look up, he took a step closer to her. He turned her body around and put his finger under her chin. He moved her chin so she was looking into his eyes as he said the next part. "I don't want friends like that. I don't care to be popular, and I'd rather make real friends. I mean those people might turn into real friends at some point, but they would only begin being my friends because they know my family has money," He gazed deep into her pale eyes and prayed that she knew he was being completely honest. He noticed her eyes tear up and spoke softly. "Please don't cry. We were fine before, who made you think that way?"

Hinata bit her lip and spoke softly. "It's not important. I should have known she was just being petty and jealous… Well I knew she was. Her words just stuck with me," She looked down at her toes. "I'm sorry for being cold… and weird," She whispered and looked back over at him. He nodded and looked to be in deep thought for a moment.

"Next time… Come to me first, please?" He asked. "Well, hopefully there isn't a next time. I consider you a friend, and the next time 'she' tries to tell you otherwise, ignore her. She's just jealous and needs to go mind her own damn business," He stated. He wasn't going to make her tell him who the girl was. "And for whatever its worth, I wouldn't give up this friendship so easily."

Hinata looked up at him with wide eyes and couldn't help but smile. She felt much happier after talking with him. She also felt more confident in their friendship and was happy he came to her. "Thank you for coming to me. It's more than what some of my old friends would have done, they just let me calm down and come to them."

Gaara nodded with a smile and then groaned when he heard knocking on her door. "What do you think they want?" He asked with a sigh. Hinata shrugged and walked over and leaned against her door. "If you don't answer the door, will they leave?" Hinata smiled at the seriousness in his voice.

"Probably not," She pushed Gaara so he was out of sight and signaled for him to be quiet. She opened the door to see Neji there. "Yes?"

"I just came to check up on you," He stated in a bored tone. Hinata nodded and waved.

"Okay. You've checked on me. See ya," She closed the door in one swift motion and then turned to Gaara. "What would you like to do today?" He shrugged and walked over to her bed. He took a seat and took a glance around her room. The walls were a lavender color. She had a computer desk against one wall in the corner. Against the wall across from the bed, she had a dresser next to another door, which he assumed to be her closet. There was a window on the wall next to her bed, and a nightstand under the window. She had a bookshelf next to the computer desk and the walls were barren.

"I figured you'd have some kind of posters up somewhere," He commented as he took note of one picture on the back of her door. He walked over and looked at it and the look on his face softened. "Is this your mom?"

Hinata swallowed and nodded. "Yeah. When she was around, Dad was nicer," Gaara nodded. He hadn't really gotten to experience his mother for that long either. He could empathize with how she felt. "Um, anyways… Back to the topic of what we should do today."

Gaara nodded and looked back at Hinata with a small smile on his face. "You wanna come over to my house and have a movie marathon or something?" Hinata smiled and nodded.

"Just let me change, and I'll be right with you," She opened the door. "Wait for me by the front door?" She suggested. Gaara nodded and headed down to the front door. He wasn't too shocked to see Neji there with four others. Tenten, Sakura, Naruto and Sasuke were kids her recognized from some of his classes. He ignored them and looked up when he heard Hinata walk down the stairs.

She had decided on one of her favorite shirts, a one shouldered tank top. It was black with a dragon and rose design on it. She wore her favorite blue skinny jeans and her trusty black Converse that cut off below the ankle. She had put in a pair of red rose earrings and tucked her cell phone in her right, front pocket. "All ready," She told Gaara with a warm smile as she brushed her hair out of her face with her right hand. He grinned and the two walked out the door leaving the small group to watch shocked.

All Sakura could do was glare as Hinata pulled on the helmet Gaara offered her. Gaara got on the motorcycle first and Hinata soon followed, wrapping her arms around him tightly. And within a minute, they were down the driveway and headed for Gaara's house.

* * *

A/n: Alright, sorry for the little bit of wait. I've been a busy body with work and other things that needed to be done. I'm working on making a livejournal that I'll hopefully be able to work on posting info about updates and whatever. Although I may end up giving that up and doing a public twitter or something. Hope this chapter was liked, I worked hard on it! I also would like to mention, and have been meaning to mention this, but I have a polyvore account and have been making outfits for the chapters on there and have those listed on my profile. So feel free to go check those out.

Anyways, sorry for the rambling in my author's note. Thanks for reading and let me know what you think. I live for reviews =)

Katie


	9. Chapter 9

Hinata walked down the stairs in a pair of jeans and a Konoha high homecoming T-shirt from the year before. She poured a bowl of cereal and sat at the dining room table. After a quick breakfast she cleaned her dishes and grabbed her bag. With a quick goodbye to Neji, she walked out the door and walked down the block to meet Gaara. She smiled when she noticed him leaning against a fence. "Hi Gaara," She smiled at him as he looked up. He greeted her with a small smile of his own and handed her his helmet.

She pulled it on and got on behind him. She blushed as she remembered her thoughts from yesterday when she had gotten off at the same spot they were now. Her thoughts were about how she doubted she would trust many people offering her rides on a motorcycle. But when she thought about Gaara offering her a ride, it felt _right. _She blushed harder under the helmet when she realized that part of the reason was she felt _**safe**_ with Gaara. She let out a deep breath when they finally made it to the school parking lot. He pulled into a parking spot and allowed Hinata to get off first. When she was safely off, he got off and put the kickstand down.

He looked over at her as she pulled the helmet off and shook out her hair. She gave him a small smile as she handed him the helmet. "Are you feeling alright, your face is all flushed," Her face darkened at the pure look of concern on his face.

"Yeah, just thinking of some embarrassing moments in my life," She chuckled nervously and gave him an embarrassed smile for being caught thinking about him. He seemed to buy her words as he nodded and took his helmet with him into the school. Hinata followed behind at a slightly slower pace trying to figure out what it all meant. This was one of the moments she wished she had some kind of girl friend to talk things out with. She nodded absentmindedly when Gaara told her he needed to go get some things from his locker. "Yeah, me too… Well my locker," He nodded and gave her a smile before walking away.

Hinata slowly walked to her locker. Her mind was racing at the speed of light. The last time she had felt anything remotely close to how she felt when she was with Gaara, was when she was crushing on Naruto. She felt her cheeks change from their usual pale hues to a dark red. She couldn't possibly like Gaara…could she? Hinata took a deep breath and closed her eyes. She had to think about this rationally. Her mind had to be playing tricks on her.

She shook her head and grabbed the books she needed for her first two classes. After slamming the locker shut, she made her way to the first class.

* * *

Hinata's mind continued to reel, she was trying to come up with alternate reasons for all of her feelings towards the red-headed boy some people seemed to fear. She didn't see the ball before it was too late. She shook her head as she sat up on the gym floor, she shook her head to try and clear the stars from her vision. She wasn't too surprised when her teacher's face was in her own asking her if she was alright. "Yeah, I'll be fine Ms. Mitarashi," Hinata went to stand up and almost fell over again. Anko shook her head at the girl and called someone over to walk her to the nurse's office.

"Oy, Hinata what happened out there," Came TenTen's voice. TenTen pulled Hinata's arm around her shoulder and looked at the Hyuuga princess. Hinata shrugged with a weak smile. TenTen sighed, before the whole popularity thing had happened, she had been friends with Hinata. She had been friends with Hinata way before dating Neji. "Come on, I know you better than that. And I'm sorry about not having much time for you since Neji and I started going out," TenTen sounded genuinely sorry about the fact.

Hinata smiled softly at TenTen's words. "It's okay. You love him, and he loves you, you guys need your time together and it's probably better you aren't linked to the geek in junior year," TenTen shook her head rapidly.

"No it's not okay. Especially considering I'm friends with Lee… He is a hundred times worse than you in the popularity department. Which to be honest pisses me off because Neji talks to him as well… But he doesn't really talk to you. I don't see the logic," She let out a long drawn out sigh. Hinata shrugged under TenTen's arm and spoke softly.

"I've gotten used to it," She gave TenTen a small smile. She also looked away, hoping TenTen didn't see the hurt in her eyes. "I've gone without friends for so long, that it," She swallowed at the lie she was about to tell. "It doesn't bother me anymore."

TenTen shook her head and spoke quietly. "I know that's not true, Hina," She stopped walking and let go of Hinata, ready to catch her if she fell. When Hinata didn't fall, TenTen continued. "Losing friends hurts. And it had to hurt to lose Neji too. He went from being a close cousin to only talking to you occasionally and even then he's sketchy," TenTen looked down at the floor. She felt horrible and now wanted to smack Neji for treating his sweet cousin that way.

"Yeah… It hurt. But I have a friend now. And I have a feeling he won't end up being as fickle as my previous friends," She stated softly. Her mind went back to her earlier thoughts and she bit her lip. Even if she did like Gaara, it would be a bad idea. Because if that went bad, then she'd be back to having no friends. Hinata took a deep breath and closed her eyes. She had to be imagining something.

"Hina," TenTen swallowed and felt her own mood dampen at the look on Hinata's face. "I'm going to make an effort to work on being friends again. So if you don't want to tell me what's on your mind now, I completely understand. But please… After we get close again…If we get close again, will you tell me what's on your mind?" TenTen bit her lip as Hinata's pale eyes met her own brown eyes. She watched as confusion, hurt, sadness and then hope went through her eyes.

"I…I'd really like that," Hinata admitted softly. She wasn't the type of person to hold grudges, and TenTen had never been rude to her like some of Neji's other friends. TenTen had just been oblivious and busy, with her sports, school and her café job, she just didn't have time to keep up with everyone. Hinata was happy that she had Neji, because most friends probably wouldn't put up with her hectic schedule.

TenTen smiled brightly at Hinata and linked arms with her. "Come on let's get you to the nurse," Hinata nodded and the two walked quietly to the nurse's office. TenTen hummed along to a song as Hinata snuck a glance at her once upon a friend. She couldn't stop the hopeful smile from forming on her face. She was getting a friend back.

* * *

A/n: I apologize for the wait, I've started my college classes. When I'm not at school, I'm either at work, doing homework, or working on something around the house. My dad's sick and that's taking it's toll as well. I also would like to apologize for the shortness compared to the last couple of chapters. I did want to get this out there and I hope it meets expectations. As always, thanks for reading and let me know what you think! Your reviews keep me motivate!

Katie


	10. Chapter 10

Hinata was sitting in the locker room after class and thinking things over. She shook her head and pulled on her shoes. With one last look to make sure her gym locker was locked, she made her way out to the parking lot. She gave a small smile when she met up with Gaara. "Sorry," She let out a breath. "We were running for most of gym class, so I took a minute to try and catch my breath."

Gaara nodded and handed her the helmet. When they were both in place, he pulled out and started towards the Hyuga home. When they turned the corner, he came to a stop. She let herself off and handed him his helmet. She gave her usual thank you and gave him a small smile. With one last glance in Gaara's direction, Hinata started the short walk down the block to her house. Her plans included a nice, long, hot steamy shower, and homework. She walked in the door to see TenTen and Neji working on homework at the dining room table. TenTen waved with a warm smile. Hinata returned the wave with a big smile of her own. She didn't know making friends would have her feeling this good. She shook it off and headed for her room to drop off her bag. She made her way to the bathroom and let out a happy sigh as she closed and locked the door.

She stripped out of her clothes and stepped into the shower. She turned it on and let out a sigh of relief as the hot water hit her sore, tired body. She began her usual ritual of washing her hair and body. And when she was done, she stood there in the warm spray until the water turned cold. She quickly turned the shower off and reached out for her towel. She wrapped it around her body and grabbed her clothes from the pile she had made on the floor. She made her way to her room and once she was safely behind the door, she locked it and put her clothes in the hamper. She grabbed her pajamas and pulled them on before working on her long, wet and tangled hair.

Once she was done she started working on the homework. She let a huge smile come to her face when she heard her phone's text alert go off. It wasn't much later that she was sitting on her bed texting Gaara rather than working on her math homework. She let out a soft sigh as she closed her eyes. Questions plagued her mind and his green eyes haunted her dreams. She wasn't quite sure what to do. She was close to falling asleep when a knock came on the door, before she had the chance to say anything, Tenten burst through the door with a big smile on her face.

"So I think I figured something out… And I wanna see if I'm right. So spill," Hinata shot her a questioning look. "About why you've been in la la land," Hinata laughed and shook her head slightly.

"I don't know what you're talking about," She gave a small innocent smile as TenTen rolled her eyes.

"Bullshit, Hinata. You know exactly what I'm talking about. So who is he?" Hinata's cheeks immediately changed color. "I'm right!" TenTen exclaimed in triumph with a pump of her fist. TenTen smirked smugly. "So spill. You can trust me," She smiled at Hinata happily.

"Okay," Hinata caved softly. She looked into TenTen's eyes and smiled softly when she saw the same look in her eyes that she had years ago. "So you know my friend, Gaara," Hinata swallowed the lump in her throat. TenTen nodded as her eyes went wide. "I… I think I like him. He's been nothing but kind, and he was really sweet after I told him what happened with Sakura."

The look in TenTen's eyes got dark. "What did that bitch do?" TenTen had never been a fan of Sakura's. The only reason they talked at times was because they were both in the same 'clique' so to speak. "Did she say something to you? Do you want me to hit her?" Hinata shook her head no and felt herself smile as she remembered the fifth grade incident. TenTen was in middle school, and Sakura had been picking on her for being shy and for liking Naruto. TenTen came after school and punched Sakura hard. The next day when Sakura came to school she had a fat lip and a black eye. Needless to say, she left Hinata alone until seventh grade.

"She just made me doubt myself. She made me feel like I wasn't good enough to be friends with him, and like he was only being nice to me out of pity. And believe me when I say, I do not want any more pity," TenTen nodded in understanding and placed her hand on Hinata's shoulder. "I'm glad I have you back as a friend," Hinata said after a few minutes of silence. "I was sad to lose you in sixth grade," TenTen nodded with a small frown.

"I'm really sorry Hinata. Every time I said anything about wanting to talk to you or come see you, Neji managed to distract him. I actually told him earlier that if he comes between us I will dump his ass and make sure no girl ever dates him again," Hinata looked up at TenTen in shock. She knew how much TenTen liked her cousin, so this was insanity. TenTen nodded at Hinata, trying to answer the unasked question. "Our friendship means more to me. And I'm not willing to lose that again. I really hope we can go back to being close friends."

"Me too," Hinata whispered with a small smile. She let out a soft sigh as her mind went back to Gaara. "I'm not sure what to do about my crush though. Do I tell him I like him? Do I ask him out? Do I wait for him to make a move?" Hinata rubbed her temple in frustration as TenTen laughed at her.

"Why don't you wait before trying anything. Just be his friend, and sooner or later he'll know what he wants and he'll come to you. Have faith in yourself, Hina," She smiled at the pale eyed beauty kindly. Hinata nodded and bit her lip.

"Okay, thanks TenTen," She said with a warm smile on her face. There was another knock on her door and she let out a frustrated sigh. "Come in."

Neji walked in nervously and turned to TenTen. "Can I ask you something?" She nodded at his request and waited for him to speak. Hinata smiled to herself when she realized what he was going to ask. She made a quick excuse to go get a bottle of water. As she left the room, she heard him ask TenTen to go to homecoming with him. She grabbed her bottle of water and when she found her way back to her room she saw TenTen was now in her self proclaimed 'la la land.'

"So what did you say?" Hinata asked with a small giggle as TenTen shook her head to shake herself out of the daze. Hinata laughed as TenTen said she had said yes. Hinata felt herself pale as TenTen looked at her with a desperate look in her eyes.

"You have to help me go dress shopping," Hinata tried to protest but TenTen shook her head. "I need your help. Please Hinata," TenTen begged. Hinata sighed and eventually nodded. TenTen cheered and wrapped her arms around the small heiress. "Thank you! Thank you so much. Well I'll see you tomorrow at school!" With that said TenTen headed for the door and downstairs to get Neji to take her home. Hinata let out a soft sigh.

She started working on her abandoned math homework and then laid on her bed staring at the ceiling. She hadn't ever been asked to a dance, well once she had, but it had been a stupid joke. She wondered what went through a girls mind when she was asked. She let her mind wonder back to the look that had been on TenTen's face when she walked back into her room. The mix of happiness and bliss. She wanted to feel that. She felt her eyes tear up as she came to the cold, hard realization _'that will probably never happen to me.'_

She shook off the cold feeling and wiped at her eyes. She stood up and walked into the bathroom to brush her teeth. She set her alarm and went to bed.

* * *

The next morning she woke up to the alarm blaring. She hit the switch to turn it off and walked into the bathroom to take her morning shower and start getting ready. She brushed through her hair and tied it up in a ponytail. She pulled on a pair of jeans and a blue t-shirt. After deciding on shoes, she headed for the kitchen. After having a quick bowl of cheerios, she walked out front to see Gaara was already waiting for her. She was happy her father went to work so early, it made it easier to hide things. She took the helmet she was handed and pulled it on.

They got to school in record time and walked into the building. They walked to the library in silence and sat at their usual table. She looked up after putting her bag down to see him staring at her with a conflicted look on his face. She was about to ask him what was wrong when he began to speak. "I was talking to Temari the other day about something. And I haven't been able to stop thinking about it… I've never really felt this way before, and I'm really confused about it but," He swallowed and looked down. "I'm not making any sense am I," He looked up and Hinata shrugged.

"You forget, I've listened to Naruto speak in circles. Continue," Hinata egged him on lightly as she looked into his eyes. Gaara let out a deep breath and nodded.

"Anyway I was talking to Temari," He repeated and swallowed. "Because I've been feeling… something different around you," He paused to recollect his thoughts. His mind was racing and so was his heart. Why was this so hard to say? "Anyway, she seemed to think that this feeling… might be," He paused, how had she described it? "We came to the conclusion that, I need to ask you something," He bit his lip as her cheeks started changing from their usual pale hue to a rosier color. He took another deep breath and asked what he needed to. "Would you like to go to homecoming with me?"

* * *

a/n: Alright, so I was debating making this longer... I know you all like nice, long, juicy chapters. However I have to review some things before my class in 10 minutes, and I know you guys deserve an update. Hope you liked this, sorry for the cliff hanger. Any thoughts on what Hinata should say? Thanks for reading, I look forward to reading about your thoughts on what should happen next and what you think of this chapter. So please leave me a review =D

Have an awesome week and hopefully I can update on/by Friday.

Katie


	11. Chapter 11

Hinata stared at Gaara in shock. She then pinched her right arm to make sure she wasn't dreaming. He looked at her confused. She could see the questioning look still in his eyes. "Yes… I'll go to homecoming with you," She gave him a small smile before making an excuse to get to class. She quickly stood up and headed to her first class, leaving Gaara to smile.

When lunch came, Hinata walked up to Gaara and handed him the bento box before making an excuse to go to the library. She ate silently in the library while trying to make herself believe it was real. She felt a small smile come to her face before it fell again. She had never been to a dance, she had no idea how these things worked. She let out a soft sigh as she stared at the table top. He would probably never want to go to another dance with her again. "Hey Hina," Hinata's head snapped up at the sound of TenTen's voice.

"TenTen, I have a huge favor to ask," Hinata blushed softly. "Can you help me find a dress for the dance and help me with everything else I need help with," She admitted. TenTen looked at Hinata with wide eyes before a knowing smile came to her face.

"Gaara asked you, didn't he?" Hinata nodded as the blush darkened. "I'd love to help you!" TenTen smiled at Hinata's small smile. "You're going to need a dress, shoes and we can do makeup and stuff together that day. Sounds good?" Hinata smiled and nodded. "This is going to be so much fun… Well not as fun as my soccer games but fun enough… Hinata's first dance," She giggled as Hinata turned a darker shade of red. TenTen smiled at her friend and promised she would do her best to make it a good dance for them.

"So um when are we doing the dress thing?" She asked nervously. TenTen smirked at Hinata's nervousness.

"Well since the coach cancelled Saturday morning practice, how about we go tomorrow," Hinata nodded nervously and started fiddling with her fingers. TenTen smiled at Hinata before getting an idea. "To up your confidence, I'm taking you to a party tomorrow night."

Hinata looked up at her in shock. "You…You're kidding right?" TenTen shook her head no. "But," Hinata tried to think of any reason she couldn't go to a party and found none. "Okay," She conceded with a soft sigh. TenTen smiled as the bell rang and the two headed to the second to last class of their day. TenTen told her she would pick her up tomorrow at ten AM.

Hinata let Gaara take her home and thanked him softly before making her way inside. Hinata spent the rest of that night worrying about what was to come.

* * *

The next morning Hinata sat on the couch waiting for the doorbell to ring. She bit her lip as Neji walked by and gave her a strange look. She shrugged it off and jumped up when the doorbell rang, she grabbed her purse and walked out the door. TenTen smiled as the two made it to her car. Hinata slid into the passenger seat and took a deep breath. "This is going to be fun," She told Hinata with a warm smile as they headed for the mall. Hinata let out a small groan when TenTen said something about having to get her party outfit too. Hinata walked with TenTen as they first headed to a dress store. The two looked around and after TenTen found what she planned on wearing, she pulled Hinata to the dressing room after grabbing multiple dresses for her to try on.

Hinata looked over at her nervously. "Do I have to," TenTen nodded and Hinata let out a soft sigh and walked in to try them on. She held seven dresses in her hands and four of them were cut to about just below the knees. One of which, the skirt part was at a slant. It went down from left to right, and the left side was about mid thigh. She decided to get that one over with and pulled on the black dress. She zipped the back to as high as she could get it before opening the door and letting TenTen walk around her and inspect how she looked.

"I like it. But try on the others," Hinata nooded and let out a deep breath. She walked back in and closed the door. The next dress was white with a black belt and a black band around the top. It was strapless and ended just below her knees. Hinata looked in the mirror and shiovered, hoping TenTen would hate it so she wouldn't have to wear it. She opened the door and let TenTen inspect the dress. TenTen shook her head. "Next," She stated with a small smile pointed towards Hinata. The pale girl gave a happy sigh and went to try on the next dress in the pile, saving the floor/ankle length dresses for last.

Hinata grabbed the dark purple halter and let a deep breath out. She pulled it up and tied the strings behind her neck. She glanced down at her shins and opened the door to let TenTen look her over. She smiled at Hinata and looked around. "That one looks really good. Anyway onto the next one please," Hinata nodded and walked back in to try on the last short dress. She pulled on the dress, it was a shimmery lavender color, it ended just below her knees and she liked the way it fit. It was the first dress she had tried on that didn't have the straight across chest line. She let TenTen look and TenTen squealed in delight. "I think this is the one," TeTen spun Hinata around with a warm smile. She then pushed Hinata back into the dressing room to try on the other three. After deciding that the lavender dress was the dress for her, they walked around until TenTen decided on the black one that Hinata had tried on earlier.

TenTen then dragged Hinata into another clothing store to find an outfit for the party. In the end, TenTen and Hinata had found a black and white plaid skirt with a black bow around the front. TenTen had picked out a black halter top and a cute pair of black wedge heels. The two made their way back to the Hyuuga household where they were going to prepare for the party. "Just you wait Hinata, you'll have so much fun."

* * *

a/n: Alright, so originally this was going to be longer. But I really wanted to get it out and something terrible happened and I may not update for awhile. I will give a better explanation later on, but as of right now, I'm really sorry this is such a short chapter. As always thanks for reading and please let me know what you think.

Katie


	12. Chapter 12

Hinata sighed as she looked in the mirror. She was shocked with what she saw. With her hair down and some light makeup applied, she looked almost beautiful. She went on to look at the dress she was currently wearing. She bit her lip nervously. "Why do I have to wear a dress?"

TenTen shook her head and let out a soft breath. "So you get used to the feeling before a dress," Hinata pouted but nodded. She wasn't ready for this, the last party she had been to that hadn't been related to her family was in sixth grade. And even then, it was just a birthday party. She let out a shaky breath as she glanced back down at the dress. It was a pretty dress… it just wasn't something she was used to wearing. It was black with straps that were just a little bit thicker than spaghetti straps. There were purple, blue and white circles all over it. She nervously glanced at TenTen who chuckled.

"You'll be fine, now put on your shoes so we can go," TenTen grinned at her. Hinata glared at the ground. TenTen was wearing a skirt, cute top and shoes and she was forced to wear a dress. How was that fair. As soon as she glanced towards her gym shoes, TenTen walked over to her closet and pulled out a pair of black wedges. '_I guess I should be happy she isn't making me wear heels,' _was the only thought that crossed Hinata's mind as she slipped the shoes on. "Alright, I think we're ready to go. Come on," She grinned and pulled Hinata down the stairs and out towards the car.

The minute they were out the door, Hinata wished she could be back in the safety of her own home. Where the only people who were there to judge her were her cousin, father and Hanabi. Hinata glanced over at TenTen as she drove towards the house the party was at. When they stopped in front of the Haruno residence Hinata gulped. It was bad enough she was going to a party, how'd she get roped into going to Sakura's party? She took a deep breath and looked at TenTen once more.

"Why are we here?" She asked dreading the answer. She knew TenTen would shatter any small hope that they were just stopping to pick something up. TenTen shook her head at Hinata and parked along the road up a few houses. The two got out and headed for the front door. TenTen knocked loudly to be heard over the loud music and smiled as Ino opened the door.

"Hey TenTen… Who's this?" She yelled over the music gesturing to Hinata. TenTen looked at Hinata and was about to answer when Hinata cut her off.

"I'm no one important. Don't worry about it. Can we come in?" Ino shrugged and let the two by. The first two things Hinata could smell when she walked through the door were weed and beer. She wrinkled her nose and walked behind TenTen who was headed for the kitchen.

TenTen grabbed a cup of beer and went to offer Hinata one. She quickly declined and left TenTen to Neji, unwilling to deal with her cousin's nonsense at the moment. She walked around and ended up frowning at the music that was playing. It was all some super girly music or some very happy, upbeat pop songs. She sighed to herself thinking of the alternative rock CDs that awaited her at home. She sighed and turned around only to be met by a semi-drunk Sakura hanging on a completely uninterested Sasuke.

"Who invited you?" She sneered at Hinata in a hateful way. Hinata groaned. She felt fed up with Sakura's hostility and finally snapped.

"You know what, my friend did," She paused when Sakura started laughing.

"You have friends? Since when?" Sakura asked with a sneer on her face.

"Shut it jerk. I'm leaving. Does that make you feel better?" Hinata sneered as she walked towards the door. She walked out and let out a sigh of relief the minute the fresh air hit her face. She quickly started walking towards the closest place she knew, which happened to be Gaara's house. She grabbed her phone and sent him a text asking him if he was home. She was quite pleased when the text she got in response said that Kankuro was gone for the night as well.

She took a deep breath as she walked up to his door and knocked. She looked down at her dress with a frown and was relieved when Gaara opened the door. "Hi," Her voice was soft. He looked somewhat surprised at her appearance but quickly stepped to the side to let her in. "Sorry to show up unannounced."

Gaara shook his head as he closed the door. "It's okay. I'm glad it's you over other people," He chuckled. Hinata blushed and gave him a small smile as she shivered. Gaara frowned in thought as she took off her heels. "So you look all dressed up," Hinata nodded shyly.

"Can I use your bathroom really quick?" She smiled softly when he nodded and walked through the familiar hall and into the bathroom. She washed the light makeup off of her face and wandered back into the living room where Gaara was seated on the couch. "Thanks," He nodded as she took a seat next to him. "Wanna watch a movie or something?" Hinata nodded without thinking and smiled when Gaara held up the new Sherlock Holmes DVD with Robert Downey Jr. and Jude Law gracing the front cover.

"Sounds good," She smiled. She had wanted to go see it last December but hadn't found time to go. He put the DVD in and took his seat next to Hinata. They spent the next two hours watching the movie. As the credits began to roll, Gaara turned to look at Hinata to see her leaning back against the couch with her eyes closed, nearly asleep. He stood up carefully and contemplated waking her up. He sighed and picked her up and carried her into Temari's room. He laid her on the bed and smiled slightly at the peaceful look on her face.

* * *

A/n: I know it's been awhile...um the only real reason the last chapter was posted somewhat quickly was because it was almost done. I added a couple of paragraphs and it was ready to be posted. I've been going through a rough time between what happened September 21st and getting through school. After it happened, I lost most motivation to write and basically stopped writing. However, I'm slowly regaining it. So once again, I apologize for it taking this long to post and hope you enjoy the chapter.

As always thank you for reading and please leave a review.

Katie =)


	13. Chapter 13

Hinata woke up to birds chirping outside the window. She wiped her eyes trying to get the sleep to leave them. She frowned when she realized she was still in her dress from last night, had she really been too lazy to change into comfortable clothes? It was that moment that she realized that she wasn't in her own bed. She let out a small yelp of surprise and ended up on the floor. She slowly got to her feet as she started recalling the events from the previous night. She had gone to Sakura's party with TenTen and then ended up at Gaara's house, where they watched movies. She frowned in thought, she didn't remember anything after the movies. She walked over to the closed door and opened it quietly.

She was about to walk out into the living room when the door across from the room she had stayed in opened. She turned to see who was coming out and felt the blood rush to her face when she was met with the sight of Gaara wrapped in a towel. "Sor…Sorry," She stuttered nervously before turning to face away from him. Gaara gave her a confused look and glanced down. A look of realization came onto his face as he nervously tightened the towel around his waist. He let out a small chuckle and walked over to his room to change.

When Hinata saw him next, he was walking out of his room while pulling on a shirt. She blushed as she realized she was thinking about how toned his abs were. She shook her head and smiled nervously as she met his eyes. "I should probably go home," She bit her lip and thought about the dance that was later that day.

"I'll take you home," He frowned in thought. "Although you may want to change…Or wait, never mind. We can walk," Hinata nodded with a small smile. She walked with him to the door and pulled on her shoes. He pulled on his shoes and they started their journey towards the Hyuuga house. She turned and thanked him softly as she walked up to the door and took the spare key from it's hiding spot. She let herself in and slipped her shoes off. Once she knew she could creep into her room without being caught she sprinted for her door. She quickly opened her door and slid into the safety zone known as her room. Once the door was closed behind her she let out a deep breath that she hadn't recalled holding in the first place.

She changed out of her dress and into pajamas as she thought of how she was going to explain why she wasn't home last night to her father. She was very nervous about her father being angry with her. She laid on her bed and stared at the ceiling. Before she knew it she had fallen asleep.

* * *

TenTen had spent most of the morning looking around for Hinata, and now that it was noon, she was freaking out. Hiashi would murder her in her sleep if he knew that she had somehow managed to lose his daughter. She knocked on the door to Hinata's room, praying that she had come home after the party. She let out a small squeal of excitement when Hinata opened the door looking confused. "Thank god! I was worried when I didn't see you around last night," Hinata gave a small smile.

"Sorry, after getting into a slight fight with Sakura, I left. I actually," She paused and pulled TenTen into the room, closing the door behind her. "I actually ended up sleeping over at Gaara's house," Hinata bit her lip nervously as TenTen's eyes widened. "I mean nothing happened… But it was still really awkward. Can we not talk about it… Please," She whispered softly. TenTen frowned and then nodded.

"But you will tell me about it later. Let's start getting ready," TenTen went down to the living room and came back up with her dress and her bag with other things she would need. "You go shower, I showered at home," Hinata nodded and walked out of the room taking a robe with her. TenTen walked over to Hinata's dresser and emptied her bag. She set up her straightener and plugged in her hair dryer. She took out her buns and started brushing out the tangled hair.

Hinata walked back in the room with her bathrobe on. "Alright, what now?" TenTen chuckled at Hinata before gesturing to a chair she had pulled near the dresser. Hinata sat down and TenTen began to brush out Hinata's hair and blow dry it. When she had finished, she pulled it into a loose ponytail. TenTen put her own hair in a ponytail and then suggested they go eat lunch before they continue getting ready for the dance. The two made their way to the kitchen and sat at the table to figure out what they wanted to eat for lunch. After deciding on a simple sandwich and chips they quickly finished that and went back to Hinata's room to finish getting ready.

After convincing Hinata to get into her dress, TenTen worked on applying very natural looking makeup. Hinata glanced into the mirror and let out a small gasp before turning to look at TenTen. She was finishing up her makeup and then worked on curling her hair slightly. "You look very nice TenTen," She spoke quietly.

"Thanks, you look pretty spectacular yourself," TenTen laughed as Hinata blushed shyly. She was about to respond when she heard the doorbell. Hinata slipped on her shoes and walked down the stairs to answer the door. She noticed Neji waiting at the bottom of the stairs for TenTen and rolled her eyes. Was she the only Hyuga who knew how to answer the phone and door? She opened the door and her eyes widened.

"You look really beautiful," Gaara's smooth voice met her ears as he handed her some flowers. She thanked him softly and took the flowers into the kitchen. She put the flowers in a vase and walked back out. "Shall we go?" Gaara offered Hinata his arm and she felt her cheeks heat up as she took his arm and walked out the door with him.

* * *

A/n: Alright, so I know I said it was going to be the dance, but it is an important filler. Sorry for the wait, between school and other insanity around the house I haven't had much time to work on it. Anyways, hope it's up to par, even if it is a filler. I'd also like to thank all of you for your reviews, story alerts, author alerts, favorite story and favorite author. It's always a great pick-me-up to see that a new reader has favorited my story. It's a great motivator and I'm really grateful for all of my amazing readers. So thank you. Hope you enjoyed this chapter. As always, thank you for reading and leave a review letting me know what you think so far.

And to those of you who celebrate it, Happy Thanksgiving! =D

Katie


	14. Chapter 14

Hinata smiled politely as Gaara opened the passenger side door of Kankuro's jeep for her and mumbled a quick thank you. As excited she was to be going to Homecoming with Gaara, she was also nervous about how it would turn out. She blushed when she felt Gaara look over at her for a moment. "What's wrong?"

"It's nothing," Hinata answered nervously. She stared out the window as her mind wandered. She couldn't help but feel like a huge nerd for having never gone to a school dance. In her middle school there had been school parties, and the only dance was at the end of eighth grade. And the only way she would have gone in eighth grade would have been if she was asked to go by someone. After sixth grade she had stopped trying to appeal to people since it didn't make a difference. Gaara frowned slightly and she let out a sigh. "I haven't ever been to a dance," She finally admitted with an embarrassed blush.

"Neither have I really. Never really had a reason," He explained when Hinata glanced up at him confused. "My brother would take a different girl to each dance, and my sister went once but came home angry at the guy who had asked her. The only girl that really talked to me was kind of annoying and she always tried to hint that she wanted me to take her," He let out a weary sigh as he slowly pulled into the school's parking lot.

"That surprises me," Hinata spoke softly. Gaara looked up at her and waited for her to explain more after he parked the jeep. "You're such a nice person. Why wouldn't people want to make friends? And don't say your dad, because good people would be able to look past that," Hinata reached over and put her hand on his arm lightly. She closed her eyes and gave him a bright smile. "They missed out on a wonderful person."

Gaara couldn't hide the shock on his face. He'd never been called a wonderful person. He'd been called hot, scary, insane, and many other random things. Never once had it been wonderful. He shook his head and wiped the look off of his face as Hinata opened her eyes while still smiling brightly at him. "Ready to go in?" Gaara asked after a few moments of silence as they stared at each other. Hinata nodded as her smile dimmed down into her normal shy smile. He stepped out of the Jeep at the same time she did and slammed the door shut, hitting the lock button. He walked around the back and met back up with the Hyuga princess and walked with her up to the decorated entrance of Konoha High School.

They followed the decorations to the gym where the main part of the dance was being held. They had outlined the dance floor with four large pillars that they had wrapped white Christmas lights around. There was a popular pop song playing and many people were squished together on the dance floor. Hinata shuddered as she noticed Rock Lee's favorite teacher chaperoning and dancing to the music. Gaara had a similar reaction as he lightly pulled her arm so they could walk away from the creepy teacher. Hinata looked around the gym and smiled at the four tables on the north and south side of the dance floor that had beautiful rose centerpieces and rose petals on the table clothes. She looked towards the east end of the gym and smiled at the DJ's table.

"I'm kinda surprised that it looks so nice," She commented softly as Gaara chuckled. She shook her head at his laughter and explained herself further. "It's the ugly gym…and it looks presentable! You should be surprised too," Gaara nodded as he glanced around.

"True, they could have just put up the DJ's table and said that was all we were getting," Hinata nodded with a small smile. She felt her cheeks heat up when he turned to face her and bowed slightly before offering her his hand, indicating he wanted to dance. She nodded shyly and took his hand. As they walked onto the dance floor she felt glares pointed in her direction and couldn't help but shiver slightly. "Are you cold?" He asked her concerned. She shook her head and put on the best smile she could.

Despite the music, Gaara and Hinata danced the more formal, slow dance. That being the only kind of dancing either of them really knew about. Hinata from past family parties and Gaara from his dad's past formals of some sort. TenTen shook her head from her spot next to Neji. "I knew I forgot to go over something with her," She muttered with a small sigh. Neji's eyebrow went up and TenTen blushed and chuckled nervously. "It's nothing Neji. Uh…Let's go get something to drink," She stated trying to keep his mind off of what she had just said.

* * *

Sakura's cold green eyes never left the couple. She wanted to storm over there and pull the stupid Hyuga girl off of the handsome boy. Maybe her anger came from the fact that Sasuke hadn't asked her to Homecoming like she thought he would. Maybe it came from the fact that all her friends had dates and she was here with Naruto. But part of it was the fact that she had caught Sasuke staring at Hinata at some point during a day. Either way, she was frustrated with the indigo haired beauty.

It was even more infuriating seeing her smile at something the red head had said. She shook her head and walked out of the gym to go get something to drink from the coolers. She rolled her eyes at the options. She had been on the homecoming committee and recalled the teachers suggesting that they gave pop and juice as an option so nothing could be 'spiked.' She smiled as she bumped into Ino who was dragging Shikamaru around to the drink coolers. "So, have you seen little miss perfect and the red head?" Sakura asked feeling highly irritated.

Ino nodded and rolled her eyes. "I still don't understand why he asked her," Shikamaru let out a disgruntled sigh and muttered about girls being troublesome and walked away from the two. Ino rolled her eyes again and looked Sakura dead in her green eyes. "You should be happy you didn't bring a guy like him, lazy piece of shit," She sighed wistfully as she followed Shikamaru with her eyes. "I think the only reason he came was because I begged him."

Sakura nodded at her friend and gave her a comforting smile. "I'm sure that's not the only reason, Ino."

* * *

Shikamaru made his way back to the gym. He didn't like the look in Sakura's eyes as she complained about Hinata yet again. He hadn't even planned on going to Homecoming. It was a waste of his valuable sleep time. And as much as he liked Ino, he only saw her as a friend, and even that was slowly evaporating. He didn't like the way she acted with Sakura and really didn't like the way she acted when people were watching. He walked out on the dance floor and tapped lightly on the infamous girl of the night and smiled tiredly when his brown eyes met her lavender tinted eyes. "I'd be careful tonight. Sakura and Ino may be scheming at the moment," He gave her a polite smile and walked back the way he came. He would send Ino a text and tell her to find a new way home because he was going home to go to sleep.

Hinata watched as Shikamaru's back disappeared through the people and turned to look at Gaara with a slightly fearful look. "I keep questioning if coming here was a good idea," Her quiet voice was full of concern and he could tell that she was nervous. She looked up and saw his questioning gaze as he kept glancing in the direction Shikamaru had gone. "He's nice. We've been paired up a couple of times. He's popular because he helps make plays for the football team, but if he didn't do that he'd probably be at the bottom of the popularity chain too. Not because he had to be, but because he doesn't care about that stuff and is far too lazy to care," She gave a knowing nod and bit her lip when she glanced around and didn't see Sakura or Ino. "I've got a bad feeling about this," She mumbled more to herself than to Gaara.

Gaara let out a sigh. It had only been half an hour, and he was kind of bored of the dance anyways. He took Hinata's hand and slowly pulled her across the dance floor, they made their way to the door and he glanced both ways down the hallway before pulling her through it. When they heard Sakura's voice, he quickly pulled her through the nearest door and the two stumbled farther into what they had assumed to be a room until Hinata felt the wind. She took a moment to look around and let out a surprised gasp when she realized they were in the courtyard. There were white Christmas lights decorating the trees and they were in the middle. She felt the corners of her lips lift upwards in a smile. She walked a little farther ahead and spun around slightly loving the feel of the cool air.

Gaara chuckled as he finally met Hinata's gaze. She blushed embarrassed that he was laughing at her and smiled slightly. As the wind blew once more she felt herself shiver. Gaara slowly made his way closer and pulled her into a hug. She felt her cheeks heat up once again and smiled shyly when he pulled back and took off his jacket and put it on her. "Ready to head home?" She shook her head no and he grinned mischievously. "Wanna come over to my house and we can watch movies or something?" A small smile appeared on her face a moment later as she nodded. "Oh and don't worry. Kankuro is bound to be out. I think he said something about going to bother Temari in Suna. But I think Temari was gonna come spend the weekend. Oh well, he'll figure it out later."

"What are we going to watch?" Gaara shrugged and the two slowly made their way back towards Kankuro's jeep as they tried to figure out what they would do once they got to his house. When they got to the door of the courtyard, Gaara glanced out the window to make sure the coast was clear. Hinata peaked through the window as well and wasn't quite ready for Gaara to grab her hand. He gently tugged her through the hallway and out the back doors. They heard Ino and Sakura talking as soon as they got outside and the two froze up for a moment.

"I mean honestly. Who does she think she is. She's always acting like she's so much better than the rest of us. You've seen her, she always acts like she's too good to talk to us," Sakura complained as Ino nodded. Hinata shook her head at the two. She didn't feel that way at all, it was Sakura and Ino who didn't find her important enough to talk to. She frowned and glared at the floor slightly. She was so sick of people trying to pin the blame on her.

Gaara rolled his eyes and took Hinata's hand in his own and the two made their way past Sakura and Ino who both looked shocked. Ino looked slightly remorseful as Sakura glared hatefully at the indigo haired Hyuga. Gaara unlocked the Jeep and opened Hinata's door for her with a small smile. He walked around to his side and sent a menacing glare at both girls and felt himself smile as he noticed Hinata doing the same from her seat. Slowly but surely she was getting fed up. He knew she had a backbone in there somewhere, and he had a feeling once Hinata Hyuga was completely fed up, Sakura and everyone else who had picked on her were going to feel her wrath.

* * *

A/n: I'm really sorry it's taken so long. I've been stuck because of a lot of things. The main reason being that I am a dork/nerd, kind how Hinata feels, because I've never gone to a school dance. On the plus side, this is the longest chapter I've written for this story (and that was before I added this author's note) =D. I'm hoping that this helps make up for the fact that it's been like a month and a half since I updated.

A belated Merry Christmas to those who celebrate it. And a belated happy new year! I really was trying to either update New Years Eve, or New Years day, but a lot was going on. Anyways as always your thoughts on my chapters are important to me so please let me know in a review. Personally I feel like this may have been a slightly bad chapter, but I'm not really sure...

Anyways back on topic, thanks for reading and I really look forward to your reviews!

Katie


	15. Chapter 15

Chapter 15

Hinata's alarm woke her from her light sleep. She rolled over and groggily rubbed her eyes as the clock continued to blare. She reached over and turned it off in one slow swoop. She had spent most of the night watching movies, and then a good portion of the early morning texting Gaara and TenTen. She glanced down and frowned. She had been too tired to try and change out of her dress, and she had a feeling that washing the makeup off her face would not be a fun experience. She slowly trudged to the bathroom to take a shower. After a quick, well needed shower, Hinata wrapped herself in a towel and stared in the mirror. Her face was red from scrubbing at it to get all of the makeup off. She wrapped a towel around her dripping hair and made her way back to her room to get dressed.

After taking a quick inventory of what was clean and what was dirty, she pulled on a pair of baggy jeans and a plain dark blue shirt. She brushed out her wet hair and threw it up in a messy bun rather than deal with drying it before school. She pulled on her favorite white hoodie and put on her socks. She looked around for a few minutes and found her favorite pair of gym shoes and pulled them on, quickly tying them. With a quick glance in the mirror, she deemed herself presentable and grabbed her school bag, phone, keys and wallet. Hinata made her way downstairs and put some bread in the toaster, she poured herself a glass of orange juice and sat at the table quietly. As soon as her toast popped, she finished her juice and put the glass in the sink.

Hinata grabbed the toast and her bag and headed out the door. She figured a good walk would clear her head. After getting dropped off last night, she had felt confused. Hinata had questioned her feelings most of the night, and then went on to question what this dance meant for her and Gaara. Just because he had asked her to a dance, that didn't necessarily mean that he liked her. Was she getting ahead of herself? After all, what would someone like Gaara see in a girl like her? She sighed and kicked a rock on the sidewalk. She wasn't anything special. She frowned, why was she downplaying herself. Sure she wasn't anything special, but that didn't mean she couldn't be someone special, right?

She groaned and tugged at her hair in frustration. Why did things have to be so confusing? She was perfectly happy being alone. She chuckled bitterly, who was she kidding? She wasn't happy, she had been miserable before Gaara had arrived. She frowned when she realized she had made it to school, she was no closer to the answer than she was when she started walking.

She slowly made her way to her locker and grabbed the books she'd need for her first round of classes. Without thinking much of it, she made her way to her first class. She pulled out her notebook and took her seat in between Ino and Sakura. She quietly doodled around the edges as she waited for the teacher to finish his explanation. She frowned as she heard Sakura and Ino talking about her. She could tell Sakura was trying to annoy her. She let out a sigh of relief as the bell rang and walked out of the classroom with her head held high.

She walked into her next class and sat down next to Shikamaru. "Thanks for the warning yesterday Shikamaru," She smiled at him sweetly. He nodded and went back to staring out the window at the sky. She looked up as Ino came in and made a beeline for Shikamaru.

"How could you do that to me last night?" She sounded angry, but Hinata could hear the underlying tone of hurt. "And what's this I hear about you quitting the football team? Do you really want to end up at the bottom of the food chain again?" She gestured towards Hinata which offended her and irritated her to no end.

"I quit because I'm sick of making plays. And I don't care whether I'm popular or not. I left you last night because I didn't want any part in the scheming taking place," He stated in a bored tone before ignoring the blonde completely and staring out at the clouds again. She was about to say something when the teacher came in and asked students to take their seats. Hinata watched as Sakura, Sasuke and Gaara walked in and took their seats.

Kurenai quickly went over what they were supposed to read for class and let them read on their own. About five minutes from the end of class she began to speak. She explained about a group project. She wanted them to write and perform a skit. "Alright, and I'm going to put you in groups of three. Let's have Gaara with Sakura and Ino. Hinata with Shikamaru and Sasuke. Kiba with Choji. Sorry boys, I didn't realize we didn't have enough for everyone to have two partners. Oh well," Everyone nodded and she went on to say when it was due and what they would need to be prepared for. With that said the class was dismissed after exchanging phone numbers.

* * *

A/n: Sorry, I know it's been awhile and this is kinda fillerish. Thanks for reading and let me know what you think. And once again sorry for the short chapter. Can Gaara stand working with Ino and Sakura? And what about Hinata? We all know working with Shikamaru will be fine, but what about Sasuke? Hopefully I'll have the next chapter typed up soon.

Thanks again for reading and please review.

Katie


	16. Chapter 16

Hinata had walked home, ignoring the fact that she felt angry. She couldn't really understand why. She felt her cheeks heat up when she pinpointed when the anger had started. She couldn't be jealous, _could she?_ Out of all the people in the class, Ms. Yuhi had to change it up on them. Why couldn't she have lucked out and gotten Gaara and Shikamaru as her partners. She walked into the house, slipped her shoes off and snuck past Neji and TenTen. She was at the stairs when her phone vibrated. She checked caller ID and saw Shikamaru's name flashing on the screen. She let out a sigh and answered it. "Hello?"

"Hey Hinata, I was wondering if you wanted to come meet me at Walmart. I want to get most of the stuff we'll need now. Rather than later," His lazy voice met her ears. She nodded for a moment before realizing they weren't talking face to face. Her cheeks heated up and she shook her head to clear her thoughts.

"Yeah that sounds good. I'll see you in a few," She hung up and ran upstairs to put her backpack down and grab a purse and the paper about the project. She tucked her keys in her purse and stopped in the kitchen to announce she was leaving and to tell her father for her. Neji nodded and she walked out to the garage to grab her bike. She rolled her eyes at the cars in the garage. Out of all the cars he owned, he couldn't let her use one to get around. She could hear her father's voice in her head, _When I was your age I had to earn my car. The same will be true for you. _

"Then why does Neji get a car?" She grumbled to herself as she rolled her bike out of the garage and got on. Fifteen minutes later, she was locking it up and walking into the store. She glanced around and saw Shikamaru sitting in the Subway off to the side. "Sorry, I don't have a car, so I had to go get my bike," Shikamaru shrugged and walked over.

"What's it matter to me? I'd be going home to nap and I can do that any time. I can't believe she's seriously making us work on a stupid group project," He groaned as Hinata grabbed a cart and the two made their way towards the school/office supplies aisles. Hinata nodded, it was out of Ms. Yuhi's norm to give them a group project. Especially, a project on something as simple as creating a city. She found herself questioning why she took Spanish when what she really wanted to take was Italian.

She ended up grabbing a poster board, some markers, and construction paper. "What else should we get?" She turned to look at him looking at different kinds of glue. He put one on the cart and then turned to look at her.

"I don't know how artsy you want to make this. Sasuke probably won't care too much. So it's up to you what else we end up getting," She frowned in thought and closed her eyes trying to make a mental list of what she had at home that she could use.

"This should work for now. We can always get more things later if we realize we need them," She reasoned. Shikamaru nodded and the two made their way to checkout. They got into the shortest line and stood there waiting for a good time to put the supplies on the belt.

"So, this your new boyfriend?" Came an eerily familiar voice. Hinata looked up to see Gaara's older brother Kankuro looking at her with a weird smirk.

"Oh…Hi Kankuro," She sighed as she started unloading the cart. He laughed at her response and started ringing up the items. She turned to glance at Shikamaru to see how he wanted to pay for them and watched him pull out a twenty dollar bill for their total of eighteen dollars and twenty three cents.

"Aww, he's even paying for your groceries," The annoying Sabaku teased. She glared at the boy in question and handed a ten dollar bill to Shikamaru. "Have a good day," He called as the two walked out of the store. Hinata groaned and pulled out her phone to send a text to Gaara, only to pause when she realized she wasn't sure if she wanted to text him at the moment.

"So who's taking these?" Shikamaru asked as he gestured to the bags in his hands. Hinata snapped out of her daze and shook her head.

"Um it would be better if you took them," She mumbled as he pulled out his car keys. "I may end up ruining the poster board otherwise," She gestured towards her bike as she pulled out the key to her bike lock. Shikamaru raised an eyebrow at her but said nothing as he started walking towards the parking lot. She sighed slightly happy he didn't ask. She unlocked her bike and headed for her house. She made it home just in time to get a text message from her other partner, asking if tonight would be a good time to work on the project. 'Is it cool with Shikamaru?' She sent back quickly as she put her bike away. She groaned when Sasuke sent back a text saying that Shikamaru didn't care. 'Who's house?' She sent back praying she wouldn't get a simultaneous 'not mine.'

Her phone started vibrating and she answered it with a groan. "What?" She asked feeling fed up with Sasuke's texting.

"Bad time?" Came the smooth, deep voice she had become quite accustomed to over the past few weeks. She felt her cheeks heat up almost instantly.

"No, not at all. Just was expecting you to be someone else. So what's up?" She asked as she heard the beep meaning she got a text message while she was on the phone.

"I was wondering if there was any way I could convince you to come over. Sakura and Ino want to work on the project, and I really don't want to be alone in the house with them," He admitted and she frowned as his voice got quieter. She wasn't sure she liked the idea of him being alone with them either.

"I'd say yes, but my group wants to work on it today too," She mumbled feeling upset for saying no.

"How about you invite them to my house. And that way I don't have to let you be alone with them too," He stated with a grin. The one guy was okay, but he wasn't sure that he wanted to leave her in a house with Sasuke Uchiha. From what he heard about the guy, it would be a bad idea.

Hinata felt the corners of her mouth twitch up. "That sounds cool actually. Let me run that by them and I'll text you with the answer," Gaara agreed and Hinata sent Shikamaru a quick message. When he said it was cool, just as Sasuke sent a text saying it couldn't be his house. She quickly told him the address and sent a text to Gaara saying she'd be at his house in about ten minutes. She walked into the house and got her backpack and put her purse inside. "Tell Dad I'm going to a friend's house to work on a project and won't be home for dinner," She told Neji quickly before running back out to the garage.

She grabbed her bike and rode over to Gaara's house just as Shikamaru was pulling up. She waved at him and parked her bike off to the side. Hinata walked up to the front door and knocked on it. She smiled warmly as Gaara opened the door. "Should I leave my bike there, or?" She asked quickly. He shook his head and walked out, he moved it into his garage and then walked back out to meet the two.

"Come on in. Tonight should be…Interesting… Or at the very least, headache inducing," He sighed. He was not looking forward to spending time with his group mates at all. Hinata nodded as she followed him in. The night would be long, that much she was sure of.

* * *

A/n: Alright, so I've been busy with school and stuff. And although this is filler-ish, it is less filler-ish than last chapter right? So anyone prepared for this night? It should be interesting one. I'm not sure how it's gonna go just yet, but it should be fun. Anyways, let me know what you think and thanks for reading. I'd also like to thank everyone for their story alerts, author alerts, favorite story, favorite author and reviews!

Thanks guys, and once again. Thanks for reading!

Katie


	17. Chapter 17

IWWIL Chapter 17

Hinata sat in the spacey living room in between Gaara and Shikamaru as they waited for the other people in their groups. "So," Gaara started somewhat awkwardly as they heard a car pull up into the driveway. The red head seemed relieved to have had something happen other than awkward conversation. He stood up and watched as Sakura stepped out of her car. He rolled his eyes. "That's what took her so long?" He groaned and was somewhat scared to see how she would take the sight of Hinata and Shikamaru in the living room.

He walked out of the room to answer the door, and Hinata cringed when she heard the fake squeal of excitement from Sakura. She heard the door close and looked up from her phone just as Gaara walked in looking somewhat miserable with Sakura following. Hinata shook her head at the girl, _that must have been what Gaara had meant_. Sakura had changed from her school clothes into a short skirt and a tank top that showed off her midriff. She had makeup caked on her face and it looked like she was going to a club or something of that sort. "Oh, I didn't know there was going to be other people here," Sakura stated once her eyes met Shikamaru's. She then glanced next to him and rolled her eyes at Hinata.

Hinata was about to snap at Sakura when Gaara spoke firmly. "I invited them over," His tone of voice explained that it was the end of that discussion. The doorbell rang again and he walked from the room leaving the three to share glances.

"Yeah right. You probably just came over you little slut. Hanging all over Shikamaru now too?" Sakura asked Hinata once she knew Gaara was out of hearing range.

"Nope. Working on the project. And he did invite me over," She paused for a moment. "And you're one to talk," She stated as she gestured between their outfits. Hinata was still in her baggy jeans and blue shirt from school.

"Excuse me?" Sakura's right eyebrow rose as she sneered at the indigo beauty. Hinata shrugged and gestured to Sakura's clothes again. Sakura was about to say something but Gaara walked back into the room with Ino and Sasuke following him. "Oh, hello Sasuke," She batted her eyelashes, totally ignoring her plan to rip Hinata a new one.

Hinata saw the confused look on Sasuke's face and explained. "You didn't want to do the project at your house, and Gaara asked if I wanted to work on it here. I figured we'd meet here and finish it in one night," She stated firmly. "That way we're done and don't have to worry about it again until it's due," She just wanted to be done with the stupid project. Sasuke nodded quietly and Shikamaru pulled the poster from next to him and the other Wal-Mart bag.

The lazy genius turned to Gaara, "So where are we working on these?" Gaara shrugged.

"If you guys want, you can work on yours in the dining room and we'll stay in here," Gaara gestured to the dining room and then back to the living room. "That way no one is in anyone's way," He was thankful there weren't doors that could close between the two rooms. Hinata nodded and took the bag from Shikamaru as the three made their way to the dining room to begin the project.

* * *

Hinata pulled the project sheet from her folder and looked at it. "Okay, so this town has to have two places like an airport or train/bus station. It needs six community buildings/places, three stores and four-five houses. Sasuke, why don't you work on the transportation places. Shikamaru and I will work on the community buildings and you can do the stores. Then we can finish by drawing the houses, and do all of the naming stuff…Cool?" She asked having thought it out on the whole walk home. The two boys nodded, somewhat surprised that she was taking control.

Gaara glanced over at Hinata giving instructions before looking back at his own two partners and groaning as they were comparing nail polish. "So…Any ideas?" He glared at the two when they both looked up at him with a blank expression. "Alright. Then why don't you two work on the stores and transportation. I'll do the houses and community spots. Then we can go from there?" The two nodded even though they still looked slightly lost. Gaara shook his head with a sigh and got to work on what he said he would.

He looked up about forty-five minutes later as he finished his part to see they were half done. He was happy they were at least working on the project and he glanced over at Hinata, Sasuke and Shikamaru to see them coloring on their poster board with markers and colored pencils. "Great, they're basically done and we're going to be here all night," He groaned for what felt like the hundredth time that afternoon.

* * *

Hinata smiled down at her finished work and glanced at her partners. She was thankful they were both honors students or this would have taken forever. She placed their names on the bottom of the poster and then looked between them. "So who's going to keep it until Friday?" The two shrugged and she bit her lip. "I can't…I pretty much walk to school every day. If it rained…it would be ruined," She sighed. Sasuke rose his hand.

"I'll take it. I have my own car, and I'm not going to call in sick if I feel too lazy to get out of bed like this one," He stated with a nudge in Shikamaru's direction. Hinata nodded as the two exchanged heated glances. She took that moment to glance back at Gaara and the girls and felt somewhat bad for him. He looked like he had a headache, and the two girls were bickering over how much glitter to put on one of the stores. "Need a ride home?" Sasuke's voice caught her off guard and she felt her cheeks heating up at getting caught looking towards Gaara. She shook her head and turned to face the popular bad boy.

"No. I don't live too far. I can walk or take my bike. But thank you for the offer," She smiled politely at him as the thought of how many girls had been in the backseat of his car crossed her mind. She forced the smile to stay on her face despite wanting to cringe and gag. Sasuke shrugged and got to his feet, gathering the supplies and the poster.

"See you tomorrow," He stated before heading towards the front door.

"Leaving so soon Sasuke?" Ino's voice stopped the black haired bad boy for a moment. He glanced back at them and nodded and left. Not giving them a chance to say another word. The only one he really wanted at the moment had just said no to his offer for a car ride. He was hoping he'd get another chance sometime soon.

"I'm going to get going too," Shikamaru stated bored. He just wanted to get out of the house and away from Ino. "See ya Gaara. Thanks for letting us work in your house," Shikamaru stated plainly before heading towards the door. Hinata watched through the window as Sasuke and Shikamaru pulled out of Gaara's driveway and left. She swallowed as she felt someone's eyes on her. She turned to see both Gaara and Sakura glancing at her.

"Shouldn't you get going too. Ya know, now that you're done?" Sakura asked in a sickly sweet voice. Hinata was about to answer when the front door opened and Temari walked in.

"Hinata! Oh good you're here! You can help me make dinner for my lazy brother," She smiled excitedly. Hinata felt herself sigh in relief. Temari had just saved her the trouble of making an excuse to stay. She glanced back towards Gaara to see he looked relieved and slightly confused. "Sorry, I would have told you I had midterms, but I've been busy," Temari admitted with a slight shrug. Gaara nodded silently as Temari glanced at the other two girls in the house.

"Who are you?" Sakura asked in an annoyed tone.

"I'm Gaara's sister. So drop the tone, or your ass will be kicked out of this house," Temari sneered at the girl. Sakura immediately backed down. Hinata felt the corners of her mouth twitch up in a smile. She was starting to like Temari more and more. "Come on Hinata. You can tell me how the dance went and all of that good stuff while we cook. Are your 'friends' staying for dinner Gaara?" Temari asked using the term friends very lightly. Gaara looked at their nowhere-near-halfway finished project and nodded with a frown on his face. Temari frowned at him and nodded. "That's fine. But the two of them are leaving after dinner," She stated firmly. Gaara nodded looking slightly happy to have his sister here to boss them around.

"Hinata too. Right?" Sakura asked slightly offended that she was being thrown out by an older sister.

"Nope. Hinata is my friend. And I don't want her to leave right after dinner," Temari stated with a warm smile on her face. "Plus she doesn't dress like a skank," Temari's face darkened as she looked at Sakura and Ino. Ino was dressed a little less provocatively, but still slutty. The two looked away from Temari's frightening glare and back at the project that would take at least another day to finish. "Alright, if there are no more questions, then I am stealing Hinata away," Temari grabbed Hinata's arm lightly and tugged her into the kitchen.

Hinata worked on washing and peeling potatoes as Temari prepped the pork tenderloin. Hinata found herself wondering how she had gotten to this spot. Looking back on the last few months, her whole outlook had changed. She went from being an overly, quiet shy person with no friends, to a somewhat quiet, semi-outgoing girl with a really good friend that she saw as more than a friend. She felt her cheeks heat up and let out a small yelp when she ended up peeling some skin off of her pointer finger on her left hand. She dropped the potato and peeler into the sink and grabbed her hand as Temari walked over to look at it. "Ouch. Give me a sec," She stated firmly.

Temari walked out into the living room and pulled Gaara aside and whispered into his ear while keeping her eyes on Sakura and Ino who were watching her. Gaara nodded and walked into the kitchen. "I need his help with dinner. He should be right back," She stated warmly before walking into the kitchen as well, happy when the door swung shut.

Gaara gently tugged Hinata out the other door in the kitchen and into the bathroom. He sat her on the toilet and dug through a drawer until he found the first aid kit. He took her left hand in his right and ran her finger under some cool water. He then used some ointment and wrapped a Band-Aid around it. "You should be more careful when using sharp tools," His voice was quiet but his eyes told her that he was very concerned when Temari went to get him.

"I was…My mind just ended up focusing on other things," She admitted quietly. "I was thinking about how this time last year, I was sitting at home…Alone while everyone else were talking about how the dance was amazing and so and so was the best boyfriend ever," She felt her cheeks heat up at the comments. "And how this year, I'm not alone…And I have people actually talking to me about more than just school," She bit her lip. She had almost said friend, but she was afraid that it would mean he would remain, just a friend.

"Well yeah, you're a nice person. And you're fun to hang around," He glanced away from her and then down at her face. "You're different from most girls," He saw her look down, and used his right hand to make her look back at him. "It's a good thing," His voice came out quieter as he debated his next action. The worst that could happen was she would slap him and never speak to him again. He swallowed, she was worth the risk. He leaned down and covered her lips with his own.

* * *

A/n: So let me start by apologizing for not updating in like a month and a half. I honestly thought I had updated in April...It was kind of close to April right? Anyways this was long overdue, and as I've said before. College has kept me busy, along with my own personal issues. As always, I can't wait to hear what you think about this chapter, so please review. And thanks for reading!

Oh, and on a more positive note. I'm done with classes for the summer, so I **_should_** be able to update more frequently. Should being the key word...I will try to update again soon, but I find that if I force myself to write when I don't want to, the chapter comes out less than satisfying. So, once again thanks for reading! I look forward to the reviews for this chapter, and I want to know what you guys think should happen.

Katie


	18. Chapter 18

I Wonder What It's Like

Chapter 18

Hinata's eyes fluttered closed and her arms found their way around Gaara's neck, keeping him close while returning his kiss. They would have continued kissing but they heard a gasp. Both their eyes opened and they pulled away to look at the door, and standing there with a hand over her mouth was Ino Yamanaka. "I didn't know you guys were dating!" She stated in a somewhat loud, annoying tone of voice.

"We're no-" Before Hinata could finish her sentence Ino had started walking away. "She's strange," Hinata stated softly before feeling her cheeks heat up. She had just remembered what they were caught doing. "I uh…I should go finish helping Temari," She mumbled before finding a way to slip past Gaara and leave him in the bathroom feeling confused.

She stopped right outside of the kitchen and took a deep breath. Once she was sure she didn't look overly confused or flushed, she walked into the kitchen and looked over as Temari stopped what she was doing. "How's your finger?" She asked concerned.

"All fixed up," Hinata stated with a small smile, she moved the finger in question around to prove her point. "So what next?" She asked Temari quickly, not ready to think about what had just happened. Temari raised her eyebrow at the girl and shrugged. The two worked on dinner silently. Once the food was cooking, Hinata walked back into the other room to grab her phone from her bag to check the time. She groaned quietly when Sakura blocked her way.

"You know it won't last," Her voice was dripping with venom and she had a dirty look on her face. "He's never going to choose you over the other girls at the school," Hinata felt herself frown when she saw the smirk on Sakura's face. This was the last straw, she was sick of the pink haired bitch telling her what _was _going to happen. She held her place and didn't back up like she usually did.

"If he's never going to choose me, assuming we're talking about Gaara," She paused and glared at the girl in front of her, "Then why did he kiss me in the other room? That's why you're bitching at me right? Because Ino told you that we were kissing? Half the school's population of boys like you. Get over yourself and stop throwing yourself at people who are obviously not interested," Hinata stated firmly, as she thought of the way Sakura had tried to get Sasuke to notice her the year before.

"Excuse me? Who the hell are you to tell me who I can and can't go after? Gaara just hasn't gotten to know me well enough yet," She smirked at the slight worry she saw on Hinata's face and was about to add more when Hinata shook it off and spoke seriously.

"I have a feeling that if he got to know the real you, Sakura, that he wouldn't like you any better than he does now," Her voice was soft, but her eyes were dark. "You act like you're all that because of all your friends and the popularity you have, but you're a shallow, bitchy person. Why else do you think people approach you nervously? They know that there's a good chance they'll get bitched out," Hinata crossed her arms over her chest.

"You really expect me to buy that people don't approach me because they're afraid I'll bitch them out? People approach me all the time," Sakura sneered. She glared harder when she saw Hinata roll her eyes.

"How many of those people have approached you a second time? You tend to act like Regina George from 'Mean Girls,' and yet you expect people to like you. I mean come on, when Shino left for the bug study, you spread a rumor that he got HIV and was expelled so he couldn't infect the rest of us," Hinata stated angrily. That had been a rumor that had pissed her off to no end. "You just didn't like that you weren't in the spot light, so you spread a nasty rumor. And if people are really rude to him when he comes back, I promise you that the next horrible rumor floating around school will be about you," Hinata threatened. She hadn't been meaning to threaten the girl, but she was really angry and didn't want to deal with her anymore.

"Are you…Threatening me?" Sakura asked with a gasp. She couldn't believe that sweet, little, innocent Hinata was threatening her. Hinata hadn't been able to believe it for a moment either, but she did.

"Yes. And I'm a Hyuga. We always keep our promises. Ask Neji," She stated as a small smirk graced her features. "Oh that's right, he was another one you tried to get to sleep with you. Didn't work out very well did it?" She asked with a sneer. Sakura glared at Hinata and raised her hand, ready to slap her when a voice made her stop immediately.

"What's going on over here?" Gaara's voice was suspicious and somewhat angry. He really wished Sakura would leave Hinata alone.

"Oh nothing, just catching up on school work questions," Sakura stated sweetly. Hinata rolled her eyes and nodded.

"Just some _friendly_ girl talk, which reminds me, I'd like to ask you a question," Hinata smiled at the red head and took his hand in one of hers. She led him outside and closed the door so Sakura and Ino couldn't follow or listen. "So your kiss…Does that mean," She bit her lip nervously. She'd never really had a real boyfriend before, so she wasn't quite sure how to ask about that.

"I really like you, and I've been fighting with it because I don't have many friends here. I don't want to lose you as a friend if this doesn't work out, but I can't _just_ be friends with you," He sighed exasperated. "So, let me do it the right way this time. Would you like to go out with me this weekend?" His voice was soft and sweet. She felt the corners of her mouth twitch upward into a smile.

"Yes. I would love to," She wrapped her arms around him in a hug and was very happy when he returned the hug. "Thank you," She whispered softly. He pulled back and looked at her slightly confused. "I started liking you, but I didn't want to ruin our friendship," She mumbled as she thought of early on when he was her only friend. Gaara smiled and shook his head.

"To think, we could have gotten to this part sooner," He laughed and she realized she liked his laugh. She felt her cheeks heat up and was about to comment when Temari called everyone in. Dinner was ready. The two walked inside and sat at the table, next to each other. Temari sat on the other side of Hinata. Sakura and Ino sat across from Gaara and Hinata. The table stayed silent, and Temari didn't overlook the fact that Hinata and Gaara were holding hands under the table.

* * *

A/n: Sooo I've noticed I haven't really done disclaimers or anything. So I'm just putting it out there, I don't own Naruto. It would be cool to, but I don't. I would like to thank all of the readers who reviewed. They reviews were quite motivating. I had to figure out how I wanted this chapter to go, and what would be happening. I hadn't originally planned on having Hinata get quite so...fiesty in this chapter, but I think it suits her pretty well. And as for the Shino thing...I'm not quite sure where that came from. I'm not trying to offend anyone or anything. I'm also kinda weirded out I was able to think about Mean Girls when I did, I haven't seen that movie in years.

Anyways, let me know what you think. And as always thanks for reading! Can't wait to see if you guys have any ideas on what's going to happen next =).

Katie


	19. Chapter 19

Hinata woke up to her alarm clock blaring and groaned. It was Friday morning and the last two days had been a blur. Hinata reached over and turned her alarm off before rolling out of bed. After the awkwardly silent dinner ended, she had left at the same time as Sakura and Ino. She hadn't missed the dirty look Sakura shot her as she waved to Gaara and got on her bike and headed home. And then the next day she had been on Sakura's shit list. The pink haired girl had done anything and everything she could to make Hinata's life miserable inside the four walls of Konoha High.

The half asleep girl quietly thanked whoever decided school would be over on Fridays for two days as she slowly made her way to the bathroom. She turned on the water in the shower and got in, quickly waking up as soon as the warm water hit her. Half an hour later, she was on her way to school. She walked up to her locker and smiled when she felt her phone vibrate in her pocket. She pulled it out and glanced down at the screen. _So Friday technically counts as the weekend. How does tonight sound? _Hinata felt her cheeks heat up as she quickly responded saying that sounded good.

She spent the rest of the school day anxious for the final bell. Hinata blushed lightly every time she saw the red head around the school. It also helped that Sakura had been 'sick' or something. The pink haired girl had been nowhere to be found when it was time to present their Spanish projects. Hinata felt herself smiling widely when the final bell ended up ringing. She walked to her locker, grabbed her things and headed for home quickly to decide on clothes and shower again since she would be sweaty after walking home.

She spent the next two hours being truly girly and going through her closet and dressers. She picked out a pair of jeans and a cute t-shirt, deeming that appropriate for whatever the two would end up doing. She jumped into the shower and once she was clean, she pulled on the clothes she had put to the side and sat on her bed and checked her phone before sending a text to ask the boy what they would be doing, so she could eat dinner if that wasn't what was going to be happening. He told her he was on her way and that he'd be taking her out to dinner.

She walked down the stairs and smiled at Neji and Hanabi. She nodded politely to the group of friends who were sitting in the living room with Neji. She jotted a quick note on a post it note for her father and left it on the fridge. Before Neji could ask anything there was a knock on the door. She opened the door and smiled at the boy waiting for her. "Bye Neji, Hanabi," Hinata waved and followed Gaara out the door.

"How does Olive Garden sound?" Gaara asked with a small smile. Hinata nodded with a smile of her own. Italian food sounded good. He walked her to the car and opened her door for her, closing it once she was safely in the car. He walked around to his side and got in. He pulled his seatbelt on and started heading for the restaurant.

The two were led to a table and sat down quietly. They spent the night talking about little things, and getting to know each other a little better. After dinner the two went back to his house and watched a movie before taking her home. The two hugged good night, and Hinata let herself in with her keys, a happy smile on her face.

* * *

Her smile immediately dropped the minute she saw her dad sitting at the table waiting for her to get home. "It's 10 o'clock, Hinata," He stated firmly. She let out a soft sigh and took a deep breath. She pointed to the post it note before trying to answer politely.

"I warned you that I didn't know how late I was going to be. I'm sorry Father. And I did have my cell phone," She stated as she squared her shoulders, ready to fight. Her father let out a deep sigh.

"Go to bed. We'll discuss this tomorrow," His voice held the tone of finality that kept her from fighting it. She would win the fight tomorrow she promised herself.

* * *

a/n: Alright so I feel horrible for keeping all of you waiting for 2 months. I was stuck for awhile, and then recently attained a social life. So between the social life and work I've been busy. And I feel even worse that this chapter is short. And next week I start school, so I will have more excuses. I'm really sorry, but it may be awhile before I update again. Anyways thanks for reading and let me know what you think!

Katie


	20. Chapter 20

Hinata woke up the next morning with her phone clutched in her right hand. She wiped the sleep out of her eyes with her left as a smile came to her lips. The phone being clutched in her hand proved the previous night was not all a dream. Just to double check, she unlocked the screen and checked her text messages. Sure enough, there was the six text conversation. Once she had made it to her room, her phone had vibrated in her pocket. It had been Gaara asking if she had a good time. Once she had said yes, he said good. And she then mentioned she had to go to sleep and would talk to him the next day. She closed her eyes and let out the breath she hadn't realized she had been holding. The smile fell from her lips as she remembered the conversation she would be having with her father sometime today. That was not going to be fun.

She sighed and pushed herself up. She was at least going to be showered and ready to bolt out the door. She walked to the bathroom and started the shower. She stepped in and all her worries melted away for the next fifteen minutes. She walked back into her room, wrapped in a towel and looked through her clothes. Deciding on a pair of capris and a yellow FM Static shirt, she quickly changed and sat on her bed. She bit her lip as she debated walking down to start breakfast for herself.

She sighed, it would be better to get this conversation over and done with. She decided right then and there as she stood up and grabbed a pair of socks to pull on. Once she had them on, she slipped on her pair of converse that didn't go past her ankles. Hinata tucked her phone and keys in her pockets and walked down the stairs to the kitchen. She walked in and pulled out a bowl and poured some cereal and milk. She made her way to the dining room table and let out a deep sigh, of course he was already up and drinking coffee. She should have known that trying to sneak out early wouldn't have worked. "Good morning, Father," She stated politely with a slight bow of her head. She took her seat and slowly began to eat her cereal, waiting for him to make the first comment.

"Good morning. After you finish breakfast. We will talk," He stated without looking up from the newspaper in his hands. Hinata let out a soft sigh and finished eating. She pushed her bowl a little ways away and looked at her father, waiting for him to begin the conversation. She watched him set down the coffee mug and the newspaper. He folded his hands in front of him and looked her square in the eyes. "Now why were you out so late?"

Hinata thought about her answer before speaking. If she lied and was caught she would be beyond screwed. It would just be better to tell him the truth and deal with the consequences. "I was on a date," She stated and watched his face carefully. She watched as his eyebrow rose. And frowned when he let out a small chuckle.

"No. Seriously, why were you out so late?" He asked again. Not believing that his little princess would be out on a date with someone. Let alone anyone from that high school. He watched as she squared her shoulders and glared at him.

"I. Was. On. A. Date," She annunciated each word carefully, as if talking to someone who didn't understand. She watched the easy going look on his face disappear.

"With who?" His voice betrayed his overprotective nature. Which somewhat surprised her since he usually only intervened in Neji and Hanabi's lives. Then again, this was probably the first social interaction she'd had since Shino left, and her dad knew Shino wouldn't do anything.

"His name is Gaara. He's been a good friend most of the year. He asked me out, and I said yes. We went to dinner last night and just spent most of the night talking. He brought me home, walked me to the door and we hugged and I came in. You were there for the coming in part. Any other questions?" Hinata asked somewhat annoyed with the tone in her father's voice.

"Who is Gaara?" Her father asked having not recalled hearing about this boy.

"He's a transfer student. He used to go to Suna High, but lives out here now," Hinata stated honestly. Her father sat there with a thoughtful look on his face.

"I want to meet him," He stated after a few minutes of silence. Hinata looked up at him with a bewildered look on her face.

"Why?" She asked, not wanting them to meet yet.

"Because I'm your father. And if I don't meet him. You aren't going out with him again," Hiashi stated with the same tone of finality from the night before. "I need to get to the office, I will see you later," He stated and walked out of the room before she could react. Hinata glared at the empty bowl sitting in front of her. The only thing her Father cared about was appearances. It's the only reason she was forced into extracurriculars and doing well in school. And even when she did well, she never did good enough for him. Suddenly he wanted to be a good dad? She slammed her fist into the table angrily. This was complete and utter bullshit.

* * *

Hinata put her bowl in the sink and walked back up to her room. She grabbed her wallet and tossed it in a bag with a few other things and decided to go out for a little while. Maybe some shopping of some sort would clear her mind. She put her headphones in and headed for the bus stop to get to the mall. She needed to get away from her house for awhile and walking around the mall aimlessly sounded perfect.

Half an hour later, Hinata was wondering around the mall glancing in store windows without actually walking into any of them. Her fists were clenched at her side as her mind kept going back to the conversation with her dad. She had begun to think about how he would take Gaara when they did meet. Would he like him? She doubted it, not when he had a tattoo on the left side of his face above his eye. He also didn't dress in a way her dad would be very fond of. And at the first mention of a motorcycle, her father would turn to her and tell her that she was no longer allowed to go out with him.

The only thing that may get him to be okay with the relationship was the fact that Gaara's family had power and his father was an important person in Suna. Hinata shook her head with a scowl on her face. Her father always liked guys for all the wrong reasons. She rolled her eyes as she thought of the last guy she had been set up with on his insistence. The boy had gone to a private school, had tons of money and was a total snob. He treated other people like they were below him. She had later found out that her father wanted to make a business deal with the boy's father.

Hinata walked straight into an unsuspecting person and stumbled back, catching herself at the last second. She rubbed her nose and apologized immediately, a small, embarrassed blush coming onto her face. "It's cool. Are you okay, you seem a little...angry?" Hinata's eyes snapped to his face and she smiled slightly.

"Just angry with my dad. Other than that I'm okay," She smiled as Gaara grinned slightly. "So what are you doing at the mall? I never figured you for a mall kind of guy," She smiled as his hand reached for hers.

"Temari dragged me, and I refused to go into that store," He gestured over to the Victoria's Secret that Temari was currently browsing through. Hinata laughed softly.

"Aww come on, who doesn't love Victoria's Secret?" Hinata asked jokingly. Gaara scrunched up his nose at the question and shook his face. There was no amount of money in the world that would get him to walk into that store. Hinata smiled at him and then decided to ask. "Then what stores do you like to go into?"

Gaara thought for a minute before gently tugging Hinata in the direction of a Gamestop. She laughed softly. "Figures," She stated with a small smile before walking into the store leaving him there pouting in her general direction. He followed her after a moment of thought and smiled as he saw her looking at the back of a game cover. He came closer and his smile grew, it was a game he actually liked. That was shocking, considering most girls wouldn't touch those kinds of games.

* * *

After spending most of her day at the mall with Gaara and Temari, the two siblings dropped her off in front of her house and waved as she walked towards the front door. The minute she saw her father's car, her earlier rage was back. She walked in and heard talking in the dining room and walked in to see Hanabi, Neji and Hiashi all talking around the table. She rolled her eyes. It figured he wouldn't tell her he had planned on having a 'family' dinner. She walked past the table and into the kitchen to make a sandwich. She sat at the island in the kitchen and ate quietly trying to ignore her anger as they stayed quiet.

Once she was done, she cleaned up her mess and threw out the paper plate. "I'm going to my room," She stated firmly before walking away. She walked into her room and closed the door, locking it for the first time in years. She pulled her cell phone out of her pocket and sent a text to Shino, hoping he had time and could talk. She needed to talk to a friend...and she felt more comfortable talking to a friend who hadn't abandoned her and knew of most of her family troubles.

She spent the next half hour texting Shino about her father's annoying habits and conversations. She fell asleep leaning against her closed door with her phone in her lap.

* * *

A/n: Alright, sorry it took forever. Wednesday was hard for me and I've been extremely busy. I'd like to thank Chibiterasu and Butterfly Ninja 14 for their reviews, they helped motivate me to write this chapter out. I would also like to thank girl-of-anime, Cloud Envy Shikamaru, xxgabigailxx, sKyLaR KnIgHt, ., KagomeMarie, and 4Ever.-A.-fAIlUrE for their reviews for last chapter. Reviews really do motivate me to do better and keep writing.

Anyways, as I mentioned I've been busy with school, (Spanish 102 is a lot harder than I thought it would be), work and the random social life I've managed to obtain. I can't promise a quick update, but I am hoping to update sometime before November. Thank you for reading and as always, your thoughts and comments mean a lot to me and help me strive to better my writing. So please leave a review!

Thanks, Katie


	21. Chapter 21

Chapter 21

Hinata woke up and groaned slightly. How had she managed to let herself fall asleep against her door, was she really that against talking to her father? Wait that was a stupid question, her father was ridiculous and being obnoxious. After years of not seeming to care, suddenly he wanted to be in her life and make sure she wasn't dating some hooligan. Well it didn't matter what he said, she had decided that if he didn't like Gaara that was just too bad. She wasn't going to give up her relationship just to make her father happy. She wiped the sleep out of her eyes and looked down at her phone to see the time. It was eight in the morning, still early. She thought for a moment. Was it even worth it to go lay in bed for an hour? She sighed and got up, grimacing as her stiff muscles argued with her choice in movement.

She grabbed clothes out of her closet and dresser for the day, and headed for the bathroom. She started a bath, thinking it would do better for her stiff and sore muscles. She set her clothes down on the counter and read the last text from Shino she had received before falling asleep. '_It'll get better. Don't worry about it. And I miss you too.' _She smiled and tucked her phone under her clothes and got into the tub after shedding her clothes from yesterday.

An hour later she was in her jeans and t-shirt and was thankful for most of the stiffness to be gone. The wonders of warm water. She brushed her teeth and tucked her phone into her pocket. She threw her clothes in the hamper and headed downstairs for breakfast. Once again, she saw her family eating together at the table, her father had made omelets. She rolled her eyes and walked into the kitchen to pour a bowl of cereal. Was this his game? Was he just going to exclude her from family meals and things like that until she introduced Gaara to him? Well two could play that game. She let out a soft sigh, she forgot she could get this cynical. She'd spent most of her life letting herself get pushed around, well not anymore.

She ate her cereal quietly at the farthest end of the table, wanting to be nowhere near the three. She smirked down at her bowl when she saw them all look down at her questioningly. "Thanks for waking me up for breakfast," She stated coldly as she stood up to go pour a glass of orange juice for herself. She sat back down and finished her breakfast, pleased with the fact that the three were no longer talking. She took her bowl, spoon and glass to the sink. She cleaned them out and placed them in the dishwasher. She walked past them with a glare and smiled happily once her back was to them. She was going to make the most of her Sunday, she decided.

As she made her way up to her room to grab her shoes and things, she pulled her phone out and sent a text to Gaara asking him what his plans were for today. When he said he was thinking of just a lazy movie day, she asked if he would mind some company for his lazy movie day. She smiled when he said not at all and asked if she'd like him to pick her up. She smirked knowing the motorcycle would drive her father crazy and said yes with a smiley face. She grabbed a hoodie and her wallet and keys. She tucked her phone back in her pocket and pulled on her nearest gym shoes. She pulled her hair back out of her face and grabbed a scrunchie incase she decided to pull it back completely.

She closed and locked her bedroom door, and then skipped down the stairs to wait by the front door. She heard the engine and smiled brighter. She realized she forgot her iPod and ran up to her room to grab it. She made her way back downstairs to see that Neji and her father were out by the front window looking out at the strange motorcyclist. "Bye," She stated with a smile towards them and heading out the door before either could say a thing. She walked up to Gaara and smiled at him as he pulled off his helmet and handed it to her. She pulled it on and took one last glance at the window, smiling at the flabbergasted look on her father's face. She felt herself smile brighter when she saw it go to pissed off the moment she got on the back of the motorcycle.

"Ready to go?" Gaara asked glancing back at Hinata. She nodded with a grin, and the two were gone before her father could get the door open. Hinata hugged herself close to Gaara as they got around the two blocks to his house. He pulled into the garage, and the two got off. Hinata handed him the helmet and let out a laugh. "What's so funny?"

"Pissing my dad off," She grinned as he just shook his head with a smile.

"Happy to help," He smiled. And she nodded. He held out his hand to her and intertwined their fingers. The two walked into his house and got to his entertainment room. "Now what movie," He asked opening the case with the huge collection of movies. She shrugged and he laughed. "Why do I always have to choose," She shrugged again and smiled at him. He leaned down and kissed her gently before looking through the selection of movies his family owned. "How about this one?" He asked holding up a random movie. She nodded with a smile and he popped it in before taking her hand again and tugging her to the couch behind him.

* * *

Back at the Hyuga residence Hiashi was fuming. Why would she do this to him? Was she trying to give him a heart attack? A motorcycle! Out of all the things her 'boyfriend' could drive, he had to ride a freaking motorcycle. He looked over at Neji who shrugged as if he hadn't had a clue that the new transfer student rode a motorcycle. He glared at his nephew who simply walked away to go clear the table.

Oh, she was going to get it. He was going to ground her so fast, she wouldn't see it coming. He growled as his mind went to the worst places. He just continued to think of the worst things they could be doing at the boy's house. His innocent little Hinata. The mug he had in his hand was in pieces on the floor shortly after. He stormed to his office and slammed the doors shut leaving his youngest daughter and nephew slightly afraid.

* * *

Hinata smiled, completely content laying on the couch next to Gaara, her head resting on his chest as they watched the movie. She also enjoyed the kissing every once in awhile. She had started the day off completely annoyed with everything going on and was now completely happy and content. She had a feeling she wouldn't want to go home later. She hoped Gaara would be in the mood to hang out all day. She closed her eyes content with the feeling of his arms around her. "Are you okay?" His concerned voice broke her out of her thoughts.

"Yeah, I'm good. Just thinking. This is nice, I'm glad you weren't busy today," She finished with a smile on her face. He leaned his head down to kiss her gently.

"I'm glad you wanted to hang out today," He grinned. "I wasn't sure if you'd want to or be 'allowed' to," He stated using finger qoutations around the word 'allowed.' She laughed softly. He smiled at her laugh.

"I don't care how my dad feels. I'm not going to end a relationship just because he doesn't like someone. I really like you, I feel close to you and I've never felt this strongly for someone before. So I'm kind of nervous but not willing to give it up," She admitted somewhat shyly as her face heated up.

"I really like you too," He stated before kissing her again.

* * *

a/n: Alright so once again, sorry for the delay. In English I have all kinds of homework and a term paper I'm going to be working on. In Spanish I have quizzes almost every week and I need to start getting ready for my presentation and final exam, and in my Sociology class I need to work on too, because my lame self got a 59% on the last exam and that's not the way to go.

I've also been sick for the past 3 weeks. My doctor claimed it was a sinus infection and then five days later another doctor diagnosed it as bronchitis, so I went from pills and a nasal spray to stronger pills, a cough syrup, and an inhaler. I have never used an inhaler before so that was...interesting? Did I mention that while sick I went to work except for the two days that I was diagnosed with bronchitis and the day after? Yeah so I've just been...out of my mind for awhile. Anyways as always thanks for reading and hope this meets expectations.

Let me know what you think about Hinata's attitude and how the relationship is going. I'm trying to keep it reasonable since I hate reading a story where the guy asks her out and the next chapter they're in bed or something crazy like that. Also how about that Hiashi?

Thanks for reading, I always appreciate the reviews and favorites and story alerts!

Katie


	22. Chapter 22

Chapter 22

Gaara took Hinata home and walked her to the door. She unlocked it and turned around and hugged Gaara before pulling away to kiss him lightly. She smiled at him and hugged him once more before saying good night and walking in the door. She glanced out the window and watched him drive away before turning back around to be greeted by her father, who did not look very happy to see her. "Can I help you with something, Dad?" She asked in an overly sweet voice that she knew would irritate him. He grumbled under his breath before his expression hardened.

"Where have you been?" He asked, his tone dark and would frighten most other people. However, Hinata was used to the tone from her childhood. She turned to lock the door and smirked to herself as she went to answer.

"Out," She answered making sure he knew that was all she was going to give him unless he changed his tone and stopped treating her the way he currently was. She turned back to look at him to see her father was now fuming.

"Hinata. Where were you? Stop playing games," He growled. Hinata glared up at him and spoke quietly.

"If you aren't going to ask nicely, then I'm not going to respond in the way you want me to. You've only recently taken an interest in my life, and I don't feel like sharing with you. Why should I tell you what's going on in my life when you haven't cared for the last sixteen years?" She reasoned angrily. Hiashi looked at her surprised.

"What are you trying to tell me?" He asked, his tone slightly confused at the moment.

"I'm trying to tell you: Stop trying to be a dad. I've gotten this far without you, I don't need you now. Go back to caring about your prodigy children and just butt out," Hinata stated feeling frustrated. "You make a big deal about the fact that I'm dating the boy that I'm dating, but if you knew his dad was the kazekage, it would be a completely different story. You'd be trying to get Gaara over for dinner and trying to be talking business with his father if you could," She paused and wiped at her eyes hoping she didn't start tearing up out of frustration. "Do you know how annoying it is to know that your own father wants to use you as a business tool. Like when you tried to get me to date that stuck up jerk so you could seal the deal with his father. I really care for Gaara, and I'm not going to let your insecurities and sudden 'concern' for me get in the way of that. This discussion is over. Good night."

With that said Hinata walked past her father and headed up the stairs to her room, leaving a dumbfounded Hiashi in her wake. She walked into her room, closed the door and locked it. She heard her father come up the stairs and wasn't surprised when he started knocking and demanding that she open the door. She grabbed her noise cancelling headphones and her iPod and laid on her bed, she pulled her phone out and smiled as it vibrated in her hands.

_I had a good time tonight. _Hinata smiled to herself as she started typing a response.

_I had a good time too. We should definitely do it again sometime soon. _Hinata blushed slightly at how forward that may have sounded. She shook her head, she was overreacting a little bit. She bit her lip and waited for a response.

_Definitely. Have a good night, sleep well. _Hinata let out a soft sigh. She wasn't ready to say good night but knew he would probably just not respond to her texts like he'd done once in the past. She thought for a minute before typing out her response.

_You too. Talk to you tomorrow. _And with that said she placed her phone on her night stand and pulled her headphones off to find that her father had stopped pounding on the door. She turned off her iPod and put it off to the side. She quickly changed into her pajamas and turned off the light. She laid down and fell asleep with little to no problem.

* * *

Hinata woke up to her alarm clock blaring. She turned it off and started her morning routine. After pulling on her clothes for the day and shoving everything she needed into her backpack and tucking her phone in her jeans pocket. She headed for the kitchen to grab breakfast and paused when she saw her father. She grabbed a pack of poptarts and walked out the door wanting nothing to do with him.

She slowly started walking towards school and smiled when she heard someone stop next to her. "Need a ride," She turned and looked at him and nodded. He took his helmet off and offered it to her. She got on the back and wrapped her arms around him. She smiled as they took off.

Once they were at the school, and at a complete stop, she got off and handed him the helmet. Once they were both off and had their backpacks readjusted, Gaara took her hand and the two walked towards the school.

* * *

Hinata sighed as her day flew by. Most of it seemed a blur. It was basically the same thing in every class. The teachers going on and on about how important it was to study for finals and be ready. And how the students don't want to repeat a class right? Hinata walked to her locker and grabbed her things. She text Gaara telling him that she was going to walk home to clear her head and she would talk to him later.

She took the longest way home and started thinking about her life and how much better it had gotten. She started off the year alone. No friends and the thought of anyone liking her was just pure insanity. And now she had TenTen back, she was dating a completely sweet guy, and life was finally starting to look positive again. The only really negative thing was having to deal with her father, but she wasn't going to let the bad outweigh the good.

She was finally happy again, and she wasn't going to let anyone take that away from her.

* * *

A/n: Alright, so I was hoping to update a little sooner than this. I'm really sorry it's as short as it is, but I think the point has been made and she's made her point to her dad. I would also like to wish all of you a belated Happy New Year! I've been busy with school stuff and other family and social things. And I haven't been sure how I wanted to continue. I've also got to figure out how I want to end it. Any suggestions?

Thanks for reading, and thank you for all the lovely reviews. I'm hoping to update again soon, but I'm not promising anything. The classes I'm taking are going to take up most of my attention, and I have to deal with work too. Plus I don't think my boyfriend would take me ignoring him very well, so I can't do that either. So I apologize in advance if I don't update any time soon. Once again thanks for reading and can't wait to see what you guys think!

-Katie


	23. Chapter 23

Chapter 23

Hinata sat in the classroom silently, she sighed quietly. She finished her final half an hour ago, but the class was required to stay in the classroom until the bell rang. She was just happy that this was the last day of her junior year. She tapped her fingers on her desk as she stared absentmindedly at the clock on the wall. What felt like an eternity later, the bell finally rang, and school was out for the summer.

She grabbed her purse and walked out the classroom and headed for Gaara's locker. She leaned against his locker and waited for him to meet up with her, smiling to herself at the fact that they had made it through the school year. She felt herself smirk as she noticed him coming her way, completely ignoring Sakura. He smiled as he met up with her and took her hand. "Ready to go?" He asked with a grin as Sakura stormed off to go find someone else. Hinata nodded and the two headed out to the parking lot.

"I have to go help Temari with a few things, would you like to come with?" He asked and watched as she shook her head. "You want me to give you a ride home first," Hinata bit her lip in thought as she looked up at the sky and shook her head.

"No, it's beautiful out. I'll walk. But thanks and text me later, okay?" She smiled as he nodded and leaned up for a kiss. The two pulled away and he rode off towards his home as she started walking off campus. As she made her way home, she was shocked when she was stopped by someone she hadn't seen in ages. "Shino!" She turned around and hugged the boy immediately. "I thought you weren't supposed to be back until the middle of summer?"

"We finished everything early," He stated in his quiet voice. She smiled at him as he moved his sunglasses. "So what have you been up to? It kind of sucks not being able to stay in contact with more than your parents."

"Not much. I've been focusing on school. I have kind of been missing Kiba, but I made some new friends. A transfer student named Gaara and his siblings, I'm also," She blushed slightly, "I'm also dating Gaara."

Shino smiled at her. "I'm happy you've found someone, and I've missed Kiba too. Anyway, what else has been going on?" Hinata shrugged and started walking with him as they continued talking and catching up.

* * *

"It's been nice catching up with you, I'll talk to you later," Hinata smiled at Shino as they went their separate ways. She walked up her driveway and into her house. She gave a small smile to Neji as she passed to go up to her room. She laid back on her bed and let her mind wander. What was going to happen now that Shino was back? Would things go back to the way they had been, where it had been her, Shino and Kiba against the world? Or would things continue the way they were, where Kiba wouldn't really talk to her just so he could protect his reputation? She shook her head and closed her eyes.

If Kiba wouldn't talk to her, then he wasn't really her friend. She still had Shino, TenTen and Gaara, and they were all she needed. She opened her eyes as she felt her phone vibrate, her lips twitching into a smile at the thought of who it might be. Pulling her phone out of her pocket, Hinata sat up and unlocked the screen. _'So I know we just saw each other, but would you be interested in going out tonight? We can celebrate that school is over for the summer. =)'_

Hinata felt her smile grow wider as she responded with a quick yes and asked what he wanted to do tonight.

'_Why don't we go out to dinner. Dress kind of nice.' _Hinata frowned slightly. Where could they possibly be going that she needed to dress up a bit? She agreed and asked when he would be picking her up. _'I'll come get you about 6:30 if that's alright.' _Hinata agreed and glanced at the time. She had four hours to get everything figured out and done. She put her phone down and decided to go take a shower and start deciding on what she would wear.

* * *

Hinata swallowed as she heard the doorbell. She glanced down at her phone and then grabbed her purse. She smoothed out her skirt and took a deep breath and headed out of her room and down the stairs. She saw her father holding the door open with a glare on his face and walked up. She smiled at Gaara who was standing there in jeans and a button up shirt. "Ready to go?" He smiled at her, totally ignoring Hiashi's glare.

Hinata nodded and looked up at her father, "I'll be home later," She stated coldly as she walked out the door with Gaara. He glanced back as Hiashi stared angrily but didn't say a word. He walked up to his brother's car and opened the passenger door for her. She smiled softly and kissed his cheek before getting in. He walked around and gave Hiashi one more glance before getting in himself, and starting the car. And within a few seconds Hiashi Hyuga was out of sight and out of mind.

They arrived at the restaurant half an hour later, and Hinata was surprised to find they were a little further downtown than she was used to. A valet parked the car as Gaara gave his last name to the hostess. She smiled at him and lead the two to a table quietly. "You waiter will be with you shortly," She nodded to them and walked back to her podium.

"This place looks really expensive," Hinata frowned and Gaara smiled gently at her.

"It's not as bad as you think. And I've wanted to bring you here for awhile. So please try to enjoy it," He chuckled at the look on her face as she sighed and nodded. "Good."

The two sat there in silence as they looked over the menus that were sitting there. A waiter came over a few minutes later and their orders were placed and two glasses of water were left on the table for them. "This is really nice," Hinata admitted with a small smile as Gaara glanced up. "So… How long have you wanted to take me here?" She smiled at the amused look on his face.

"For at least a month. But I had to find the right time to convince you to come. I knew if you knew where we were going, you would have said no." Hinata blushed knowing that what he just said was one hundred percent true. It was a very nice restaurant and both their families could afford it, but it was still too expensive for her tastes. "Besides you're extremely important to me, and it's not like I haven't saved up money for this."

Hinata felt her cheeks heat up again. "That was really sweet of you. I would have been just as happy with a movie night," She stated firmly. Gaara grinned at her.

"Oh, I know. But we have a lot of those. And you don't let me take you out often enough," He grinned as a mischievous glint made itself apparent in his eyes. Hinata laughed softly and the two sat there in silence as he took her hand in his. "You mean a lot to me Hinata, and I want to celebrate that," He held up his hand when she went to say something. "I know that it's not an anniversary, but I don't think it needs to be an anniversary or some kind of holiday to celebrate having someone special. It should be spontaneous and whenever you want to share that with them."

* * *

A/n: I'm not sure how I feel about this chapter. It brings up a couple of things I wanted to bring up, but I'm still 'eh' about it. Oh well, anyways...Shino is back from his bug program thing, and school is over for the year. What should happen next? I'm still not sure where I want to go with this, but we'll see. Sorry for the super late update, but I have been very writer blocked. I've also been trying to get over some personal issues. I'm not sure when I'll update again, and thank you for your patience. I hope this chapter was better than I feel it was.

OH! And on a random note, I want to find a different picture to use for this story, so if anyone has any ideas or would like to make a picture for me to use, it would be very much appreciated. Just let me know via message! Thanks again for reading! Can't wait to see the reviews (if it was worthy of any.)

-Katie


	24. Chapter 24

Chapter 24

It was a couple of weeks into the summer and Hinata was already running out of things to do. Gaara had gone back to Suna with Temari and Kankuro for the month. She had been planning on using the living room to watch a movie or something, but Neji had invited over some of his friends from school, and she was not ready to deal with classmates so early on in the summer. She sighed and grabbed her phone quickly. She grinned at the thought that came to mind and sent a quick text to Shino, hoping that he wasn't busy today.

She stood up and started getting her things together, knowing that even if he was busy, she wouldn't want to stay in the same house as Sakura's annoying voice for much longer. Having become fed up with all the fake giggles and shouting that was going on. Hinata walked out of her room in ankle boots, a skirt and tank top, and felt her cheeks heat up slightly at almost bumping into Kiba who was exiting the bathroom.

"Sorry Hinata," He stated softly, genuinely apologetic.

She nodded stiffly and waited for him to move. When he didn't she headed for the stairs. She slowly walked down and could hear him walking behind her quietly. "Hinata!" She heard the excited voice of Tenten greet her ears. She smiled genuinely and walked into the room to say hello.

"Hi Tenten, how are you?" She surveyed the room to see that Sakura, Sasuke, Naruto, Ino and her cousin were sitting around the living room. A random movie playing in the background.

"Pretty good. Gonna join us?" The brunette asked somewhat eagerly.

"I was actually hoping to catch up with Shino since he's back in town. And if he's busy, I have some shopping to do," Hinata fibbed quickly with a small smile.

"Shino's back?" Kiba's surprised tone from behind Hinata almost made her jump having forgotten he was there. She turned and looked into his eyes and nodded again unable to speak.

"Awe, you'll have to hang out with us some time, okay?" Tenten asked with a pleading look on her face. Hinata sighed and nodded knowing she wouldn't be able to keep weaseling her way out of everything. "Have fun with Shino! See you later," Tenten grinned and hugged Hinata swiftly before walking back over to Neji.

Hinata waved to Neji and walked out the door. Glancing down at her phone as it vibrated, she noticed Shino was free and started the slow walk to his house.

* * *

She knocked on the door and smiled as Shino's father opened the door. "And this does no surprise me at all," He chuckled as he stepped back and let Hinata in the door. "And how are you doing today, Hinata?"

"Pretty good," She answered with a polite smile on her face. "And of course… I had to come spend time with one of my best friends!" Her polite smile soon changed into a real smile. She followed Shino's dad into the living room and took a seat on the couch facing the television.

"I'll go get Shino to come down for you," Mr. Aburame smiled one last time at Hinata before walking up the stairs and towards the bedrooms.

Hinata let herself glance around to see the minute changes that had happened over the past couple of years in the Aburame household. She found herself staring at a picture frame with her, Shino and Kiba as kids. They had their arms around the shoulders and smiling at the camera. She found herself frowning. She missed the simple days, where she had friends and didn't have to fit in for them to remain friends with her. She shook her head and looked up as Shino made his way down the stairs.

"Hinata," She smiled and nodded at her as he walked over to the couch. "What should we do?" She shrugged and grinned. "You could introduce me to your boyfriend," He found his smile widening at the blush that immediately came to Hinata's face. "You said his name is Gaara?"

"Yes. And I guess if that's really what you want to do with our free time," She paused and played with her fingers, her face still bright red. Shino smirked and nodded. "Unfortunately he's gone back to Suna, so we can't hang out with him today," She smirked at his frown.

"You've never played me like that before Hinata…I'm sad now," He pouted and then laughed. "So what should we do with the rest of our day?"

"Do you want to go back to my house and watch something? Or we could make lunch?" Shino nodded and the two slowly made their way back to the Hyuga residence. Hinata quietly unlocked the door and walked in to see that Tenten, Neji, Sakura, Ino and Kiba were still in the house. They had also been joined by Naruto and Sasuke. She gave a tight lipped smile and walked into the kitchen with Shino following her.

"So what is the great Hinata Hyuga going to make for me?" Shino smiled as she laughed.

"What does Shino Aburame want? I was thinking pizza… Maybe?" She bit her lip nervously and grinned when he nodded. She looked up as Tenten walked in and smiled.

"Hey guys," Shino nodded and Hinata gave a small smile. The smile soon faded as Kiba, Sakura, and Ino walked in. "What are you making?"

"I'm going to make a pizza for the two of us," Hinata stated as she gestured to herself and Shino. "Run out of things to watch?" She asked, praying that they would leave soon. She resisted the urge to groan as her mind told her that she should have asked Shino if they could hang out at his house.

"Hey Shino, long time no see," Kiba smiled as he took a seat next to Shino.

"Yeah." Shino stated as he glanced towards Kiba and then frowned. "Lose my number or something?"

Kiba immediately frowned and looked down at the floor. "I've been busy," He mumbled.

"Really? Because Hinata has been too, yet I got a call from her every week. You've let popularity go to your head. And you've hurt people you used to call friends," He stated firmly. Hinata turned away and started pulling out ingredients to make the food. She felt conflicted. But she agreed one hundred percent.

"You don't really feel that way…Do you?" When Shino nodded he turned to look at Hinata's back. "You don't think that Hinata…Do you?" Kiba asked, his brown eyes focused on her as her back stiffened. She turned around to look Kiba in the eyes as she spoke.

"You haven't spoken to me for real since sixth grade. Do you honestly think I'm going to turn around and say I still consider you a friend?" She frowned at him and her glare intensified. "You gave up our friendship for popularity, that is the lowest of low. What happened to the Kiba that promised me he would never do that to me?" She turned back to the food and continued to speak. "So yes, Kiba, I do actually feel that way. If you want to start being friends again, then you have some work to do."

* * *

A/n: Alright, so I know it's been quite awhile... But I've been busy and very writer blocked. In my defense I did start this chapter back in late September. Weak defense, I know. Anyways thanks for reading, and what do you think of Hinata standing up to her ex friend? Thanks again for reading, hope you don't hate me too much for the wait!


	25. Chapter 25

I Wonder What It's Like

Chapter 25

"Wow, I didn't realize you were such a bitch," Sakura's voice chimed after a moment of awkward silence. Hinata turned and looked into Sakura's emerald eyes.

"You're in my house, Sakura. If you're going to speak that way to me, you can leave. Now," Her voice was cold and she waited to see if Sakura would move.

"I was invited in. I'm not leaving," She sneered. "Does being a bitch make up for being a lonely little girl for so long? Or does it bother you that Kiba has slept with most of the female population except for you?" Sakura smirked evilly as she stood her ground.

"I won't deny, losing Kiba as a friend hurt. But I personally don't care in his female choice, although if he slept with you he may want to get checked out for STDs," Hinata found herself smirking smugly at Sakura's angered expression. "But that has nothing to do with me asking you to leave. And it doesn't matter if you were invited in, I'm kicking you out. Now leave, or I will find a way to make you." Hinata stated as her glare intensified.

"I think you should leave, Sakura," Tenten's cold voice surprised some of the people in the room.

"Oh and suddenly you're Hinata's BFF?" Sakura spat venomously.

"Hinata has always been a real friend. You only wanted to be friends with me to get closer to Neji and the guys," Tenten stated quietly. "And I'm sure Neji will agree with Hinata right now, it's time for you to leave." Tenten crossed her arms and glared.

"Actually, I think that's a good idea. Sakura, you need to leave. Now." Neji stated with a frown. Sakura growled at the three and headed out towards the front door leaving everyone to stand there quietly.

"Thanks Tenten," Hinata smiled as she turned around to finish working on her pizza.

"I honestly don't know how you can be friends with that…**thing.**" Tenten grumbled towards Neji. When Neji went to answer she got a call from a friend about a project. "I have to go. I promised Lee I'd help with our project today. I'll talk to you later Neji. Bye Hinata," Tenten walked over to the girl in question and hugged her lightly, smiling when Hinata returned the gesture.

* * *

After Tenten left, Neji and his group of friends all headed back to the living room to watch something, the only person who had remained in the kitchen was Kiba. He stood there and watched as Hinata placed the pizza into the oven and went back to sitting next to Shino.

"So how was the entomology program?" She found herself asking just to start talking before Kiba could start all his fake apologies.

"It was good. I liked it, I'm kind of sad it's over. But I'm happy to be back. I missed it here," He smiled at Hinata and she returned the gesture. "So other than obtaining a boyfriend, what else have you been up to?"

"Just getting through junior year of high school. Not looking forward to Senior year like everyone else is," She admitted with a chuckle. "Don't want to deal with Sakura or any of them. I'm tired of all the fakeness and being looked down on because I'm not part of the popular group."

"Understandable," Shino nodded. "At least it's just one more year, and then hopefully most of them will choose a different college," Hinata smiled at that thought.

She went to go speak up but Kiba beat her to the punch. "I know you guys don't want to hear it now, and it will take a lot of work… But I do plan on making it up to you. I've been a terrible friend, and I can understand why I don't even hold that title anymore. But I will figure out a way to fix things. Even if it means losing popularity or other friends. I never meant to let it get to my head," He finished in a mumble.

Shino and Hinata glanced at each other before looking back over at Kiba. He gave a small smile before speaking again. "Well I should get going. I need to go walk Akamaru and figure out my plans for fixing our friendships. It was nice seeing you again Shino, and once again, I'm really sorry, Hinata." His soft tone made it hard not to believe him as he walked out the front door.

"Well, what do you think about that?" Shino asked, his voice as soft as Kiba's was.

"I guess we'll see," Hinata stated as she frowned in confusion. Kiba had been one of her best friends, but what he did had really hurt her. Was she really willing to let him back into her life? She shook her head, she would have to wait and see what kind of things he did to make it up to her. The timer went off and she brought the pizza out of the oven without another thought towards the current Kiba situation.

* * *

After the pizza, Shino and Hinata had decided to go catch a movie. It had been a stupid movie that they had decided to laugh at and make fun of the whole time. Something that they used to do when they were younger and there weren't any good movies to go and see. The credits were now rolling and the two were shaking their heads. "Well that's an hour and a half that I'm never going to get back," Hinata whined jokingly as the two stood up and headed for the exit.

"Yeah, what a waste of eight dollars and fifty cents," Shino agreed. The two walked out of the theater and headed for Shino's car. "You know…Suna isn't that long a drive away… You could totally introduce me to your boyfriend," Shino smirked as Hinata's cheeks heated up.

"It's rude to just show up unannounced," She pointed out as she covered her cheeks trying to make the heat in them die down.

"Then call and ask if tonight would be a good night to come out and visit," Shino added with a bigger smirk as he pulled on his familiar shades.

"You're killing me, Shino," Hinata grumbled as she pulled out her phone. She sighed when she saw she had a text from Gaara asking her to call him when she got the chance. This just upped Shino's chances of the two of them going to Suna together.

"It'll be fun. We can walk around Suna or do something fun. Maybe even stay the night at a hotel or something… It's the summer, we have to do something extremely fun before school starts back up again," He reasoned somewhat out of character. "Besides, if we're in a different city, we don't have to deal with Kiba for the night!"

Shino had a good point with that reasoning. Knowing Kiba, as long as his personality didn't change too much in the years they hadn't been friends, he would start bugging them tonight with all of his apologies and reasoning on why they should be friends again. Hinata groaned and shoved Shino lightly and brought her phone up so she could hit call.

* * *

Gaara glanced down at the caller id as his phone range, he then excused himself quietly from the living room he and his siblings had been watching a movie in. He walked out the front door and leaned against the wall before answering the phone. "Hey Hinata," He found himself smiling right after saying her name.

"Hey, how have you been?" She asked. She sounded somewhat flustered.

"Pretty good. Bored, like I've said before…Hanging out with my brother and sister for too long can get really boring after awhile," He chuckled. She laughed softly as well.

"And as I've mentioned before, trust me…I know," She paused for a moment and he could hear someone asking her to ask something. "Okay, okay. Stop it," She muttered to what he assumed was the person talking to her on the other end. "So my friend Shino came back for the summer and I'm hanging out with him at the moment."

Gaara sighed. He had a feeling that this conversation was going to end quickly. "Hey, I'm sorry, if you want we can talk later. I didn't mean to interrupt any friend time."

"Oh no, he's been bugging me to call you for the last half hour," She laughed. "And if you could see the look he's giving me right now, you'd be laughing too. Anyway, he wants to meet you and is also trying to avoid Kiba, because Kiba is trying to apologize to us about being a lousy friend for the last few years, and was wondering if we could drive out to Suna and meet up," She paused and he could tell she was either biting her lip or giving her friend Shino a nervous look.

"That's cool with me, we could hang out at my place or figure something out to do. Suna is full of tons of randomly fun things," Gaara stated quickly so that Hinata couldn't take back her question. "Plus Temari will be excited you're coming up," He grinned knowing his sister would be just as happy as he would be to not have to deal with just siblings for awhile.

"Sweet," Hinata replied back in a somewhat defeated tone. "Well, I'll call you again when we're in town," She let out a sigh. "Hope you guys end up liking each other and this isn't a super awkward visit."

"Don't worry, I'm sure we'll be fine. See you in a bit," He grinned as Temari walked outside. The two hung up and he smirked at his sister. "Hinata and a friend are going to come up and visit for awhile."

"Oh good. I'm getting tired of Kankuro's jokes and only seeing the two of you….I need a female," She sighed as Hinata laughed.

"Well it'll be about an hour or so, but she'll be here soon."

* * *

A/n: Okay, so I know it's been awhile. And I'm really sorry. School has been crazy and work too. Plus I haven't been sure what I wanted to do with this chapter. I had to figure out how I wanted Kiba to act and how to have other people respond to that. Hopefully the length somewhat makes up for the lateness? I think this is relatively longer than my chapters usually end up being. Thanks for reading and let me know what you think! Any ideas for what Gaara, Shino and Hinata should do when they all meet up in Suna?

Thanks again. Hoping to update sometime within the next month or so. All depends on the workload.

Also thanks for all the reviews, they always help motivate.

Katie


	26. Chapter 26

I Wonder What It's Like

Chapter 26

Hinata found herself staring out the window as Shino drove down the highway towards Suna. Her mind was elsewhere, and she knew this. She had been hoping that driving away from Konoha would take her mind off all of the recent things that had happened. She didn't want to be thinking about Kiba, or missing him as a friend…but she was. She shook her head as Shino turned onto a ramp and slowed down a bit. "We're almost there, care to call him up and ask for an address?"

Hinata shook her head to try and snap out of it. "Sure." She pulled her phone out of her pocket and chose Gaara's name from speed dial. She bit her lip, her eyes going out of focus as she listened to the phone ring. Her mind drifting back to previous thoughts.

"Hey, are you nearby?" Gaara asked, and she could hear the smile in his voice.

"Yeah, just need an address so we can figure out where to go," She stated with a small smile on her face. He gave her the address and she repeated it to Shino. "Alright, well we'll see you soon." She promised before hanging up and using the navigation on her phone to help get them there quicker.

After a few turns here and there, they were pulling up into a rather long driveway after paging the house to open the gate for them. They drove up and parked in front of the garage. Shino turned off the engine and the two headed towards the front door. Hinata raised her hand to knock on the door when it was pulled open and she was pulled into Temari's arms. "Thank goodness! I was starting to go crazy," She grumbled quietly.

Hinata laughed as she returned the hug lightly and stepped back. "This is my friend, Shino," She introduced with a smile on her face. "He's been away on a project and has returned for senior year. I'm just happy that he's back." She grinned and glanced back at Shino who was smiling at Temari as she led the two farther into the house.

They followed Temari into the living room of the huge house. Hinata felt herself start to smile as she took note of Gaara and Kankuro playing a video game on the big plasma screen television. "Hey you dorks, we have guests. At least pause the game," Temari announced into the room laughing slightly when Gaara immediately paused and stood up.

"Hey," He greeted with a warm smile as he walked around. "This must be Shino?" He asked as he offered his hand towards the future entomologist. The two shook hands as Shino nodded. Gaara stepped away from Shino and pulled Hinata into a hug as Kankuro mumbled a hello to the two.

"Come on dude…We were almost done," Kankuro whined towards Gaara while gesturing towards the television. "It'll only take a couple of minutes," He ran a hand through his hair and kept his pleading gaze on his younger brother. Temari rolled her eyes as she turned to Hinata and Shino.

"So, what do you guys want to do?" She smiled as Gaara and Kankuro had a silent battle with their eyes over whether or not they were going to continue their game.

"I don't know… a movie or something?" Hinata asked as she glanced towards Shino. Shino shrugged in response and the two set their eyes on Temari.

"We could go to dinner and then see a movie," Temari stated as she put her hand to her chin in thought. "That way we aren't starving when it's over and we don't need to buy popcorn or anything," She reasoned as she was ignored by Kankuro and Gaara.

Hinata and Shino shared a look and shrugged. Temari clapped her hands together excitedly and smiled. "Let's do that," She looked over to see how close to done Kankuro and Gaara really were with their game. After a moment of thought she walked over and hit the power button on the game system. "Oops. Time to go," She smiled innocently at her brothers. But only Kankuro seemed to be scowling at what had happened.

After a few minutes of gathering keys and wallets and putting shoes on, the group was walking out to Kankuro's jeep. Temari called dibs on the front seat and Kankuro demanded to drive since it was his car which left the backseats for Gaara, Hinata and Shino. Without giving it much of a thought, Hinata slid into the middle seat.

"So where are we going for dinner?" Kankuro asked as he started his car. Temari glanced back at the three in the back and then back at Kankuro and shrugged. He rolled his eyes at his sister and looked in the rearview mirror at Gaara. "Well technically it's your turn to choose," He watched his brother's face contort in thought.

"Wanna just go and get pizza? That's quick, easy and cheap," He shrugged. Kankuro nodded and the group made their way to a pizza parlor near Suna's movie theater.

* * *

After a quick slice of pizza the five had made it to the movie theater and were now playfully arguing about which movie they should go and see. They ended up deciding on The Avengers. It achieved the boys' wants for action, and the girls' want for attractive actors. After choosing a row, the five sat quickly. Temari and Kankuro made fun of the ads as Shino sent texts back and forth with a friend. Gaara took Hinata's hand in his own and leaned over and whispered in her ear. "I'm glad you came."

Hinata turned to look at him and smiled. "Me too," She leaned up a bit and kissed him lightly. "I missed you," She admitted quietly. He squeezed her hand lightly and nodded.

"I missed you too," He smiled at her as the lights dimmed and the movie started.

* * *

Hinata walked out of the theater talking animatedly about the movie. "That was so awesome. I hope they're planning on making a sequel. I'm glad they didn't kill Iron Man," She let out a soft sigh. "We can't lose Iron Man," She laughed at the look on Gaara's face. She squeezed his hand lightly since their fingers were still intertwined.

"I have to admit now…I want to know what Shawarma is," Gaara admitted with a chuckle. "They didn't give a very good look at it in the credits."

Hinata nodded in agreement. "Watch, it'll be something totally disgusting," She stated as she wrinkled her nose at the thought of all the weird combinations it possibly could be.

"Maybe. We won't know until we try it," He stated with an evil smirk on his face. Hinata found herself laughing again. "Should we wait for them by the door or by the car?" He asked gesturing back towards the bathrooms where Temari, Kankuro and Shino had gone. Hinata shrugged and Gaara walked out the door with her. Once they were around the corner he gently pushed her up against the wall and leaned down and captured her lips with his.

Her eyes closed and she wrapped her arms around his neck. It felt like time had stopped and they were the only two people there. But sadly when out with other people, those moments don't get to last long. They heard a whistle and Temari rooting them on jokingly. The two pulled away and Hinata felt her cheeks heating up almost immediately. "Uh…Sorry," She mumbled.

The two walked behind Temari, Kankuro and Shino. Gaara took Hinata's hand in his own and interlocked their fingers again. He leaned over and spoke softly, "Next time, can we leave them at home please?"

Hinata felt her cheeks heat up again at the thought but found herself nodding. The thought of being able to have another moment like that was too great to pass up.

* * *

A/n: I'd like to apologize that it took so long, I've been focusing on school. Not only that, but I've been slightly blocked after I typed the first half of this chapter. I would also like to apologize for it being a little on the short side. Hopefully this was a decent update, I know it's kind of fillerish, but I didn't want to completely skip the summer. So here's a question for you guys, should there be some more romantic-y feelings over the summer, or should I get back to school? If I get back to school there's bound to be more action with Sakura and what not.

Also, I'd like to answer a guest who reviewed the last chapter, no Neji did not cheat on Tenten. Usually I answer these kind of reviews in personal messages, but I kind of can't with this one, so I'll answer it here. I'd also like to thank scarecrow09 for the suggestions!

I'd also like to thank scarecrow09, DeathBySugarCube, ShadowBloodNinja, Veraozao, WZRDmeesh, fudgenut (I believe another guest), Mizuki Sakimoto, Ookami No JST, Guest (the one with the question), Kagome Marie, mythologyfreakgirl, and Ninquelot for their reviews for my last chapter. I never really expect to get this many, so it always really helps motivate me.

Anyways, thanks for reading and let me know what you think! Reviews really do motivate me!


	27. Chapter 27

I Wonder What It's Like

Chapter 27

Hinata watched as Temari showed Shino to his guest room. She glanced back at the door behind her that lead to her room for the night. "Good night, everyone," Temari stated with a smile as she went to turn off the lights in the house. Hinata turned back to her room for the night and sat on the bed without another thought. She closed her eyes and laid back on the bed.

After a couple of minutes of relaxing she felt her phone vibrate. She pulled it out to read "Come meet me by the front door." She felt her cheeks heat up and quickly got back up. She snuck up to the door and crept down the stairs to meet Gaara by the door. She stumbled towards the end and felt two hands catch her.

"Sorry," She mumbled into his chest. She felt his laugh vibrate through his body.

"I wanted to show you something," He took her hand in his and with his other hand he opened the door and they walked out. He lead her to his backyard and she looked around at the lighting in awe. "So I know this isn't a beach, or anything that romantic… But this is as close as I can get without it counting as us out past curfew," He whispered softly into her ear. He lead her to a blanket laying on the grass and the two sat down and then laid on their backs. She stared up into the stars and smiled. Her smile widened when she felt Gaara take her hand into his.

"This is…," Hinata paused to sigh happily. "This is amazing," She stated as she turned to face Gaara, a blush making it's way on her cheeks as their eyes met. He rolled onto his side and placed his free hand on her cheek. He thought for a moment and then leaned in and brought their lips together. They pulled apart and Hinata looked into Gaara's eyes, her mind millions of miles away. She watched as he turned back over onto his back and stared up into the stars. She stayed on her side and scooted closer and then laid her head on his chest.

* * *

Gaara kissed the top of Hinata's head lightly. "You still awake?" He whispered. It was still warm out, but he didn't want to sleep outside and didn't want to deal with Temari or Kankuro if they found them out there together. When he didn't get a response he slowly moved her so he could sit up and get a better look. He noticed her on her back with a smile on her face as she slept soundly and found himself smiling. She looked so peaceful. He carefully stood up and then leaned down to pick her up.

After managing to gently pick her up without waking her, he slowly made his way back to the door. He let himself in and carried Hinata up to the guest room that was hers for the night. He pulled the blankets back (with a bit of a struggle) and placed her on the bed and pulled them back over her. He took one last glance at her and smiled again as he crept back out of the room.

He made his way to his bedroom and flopped on his bed after closing the door. He stared up at the ceiling and let his mind wander. He wanted to be laying next to Hinata but knew that might not be the greatest of ideas with his siblings home. He sighed and rolled onto his side, he could already feel the sleep coming to him.

* * *

Hinata woke up to the smell of bacon and was slightly confused at the feeling of covers on top of her body. She wiped at her eyes and sat up, taking a moment to try and remember where she had fallen asleep last night, because this was definitely not it. She yawned and got up, deciding on changing clothes and then walking down to see what was being made for breakfast.

She made her way to the kitchen to see Gaara putting the bacon on a plate and getting ready to crack some eggs. She walked up behind him and hugged him lightly. "Thanks for taking me to bed last night," She mumbled into his back. He put the eggs down on the side of the stove and turned around so he was facing her.

"No problem. You up for something fun today?" He asked with a sneaky smirk on his face.

"Um sure. Just you and me or?" He laughed at her question and shook his head. "So what are we going to do?"

"That's for me to know, and you to find out…A little later," His smirk got bigger as she pouted up at him.

"Mean," She mumbled before getting herself unattached from him and making her way towards the dining room where she sat at the table with her arms crossed. Gaara laughed again before starting on the rest of breakfast.

* * *

After breakfast, the group slowly made their way out to Kankuro's jeep and made their way towards what seemed to be an area of open desert. She shot Gaara a questioning look as he parked in an area designated to do so. He walked up and was greeted by someone who seemed very familiar with him. He asked for three bikes and two quads and suddenly a light bulb went on in her head. "Motocross?" She asked still quite confused. Gaara nodded and then nodded towards the next desk where there was an area to rent out suits and helmets. She walked over and gave her size and was handed a suit and helmet.

She turned around to see Temari handing Gaara his own suit and helmet from the back of the jeep. She then turned to see Shino renting his own set of items. "So who gets what vehicle?" He asked Gaara in a quiet voice.

"My family tends to go for bikes, but if either of you would like an ATV we can arrange for that instead. If you don't have a license to drive a bike, you're going to have to deal with some more training then you'd have to deal with for the quads," Gaara answered as the group headed to a locker room type area to change.

* * *

After spending a few hours riding around, the group met back up outside of the locker room areas. Hinata was laughing with Shino quietly as Gaara and his siblings finished turning everything into the arena. The five made their way back to Kankuro's Jeep and slowly made their way back to the house. It was about six at night, when they got back and Kankuro and Temari said their quick goodbyes to Hinata and Shino. Shino waved towards Gaara and headed into his car and waited for Hinata and Gaara to say goodbye. Hinata looked up into Gaara's eyes and smiled softly. "This visit was a lot of fun," She smiled. "I don't think anyone will believe I ever rode a motorcycle," She laughed gently at the faces she knew her father and Neji would make at that comment.

"But you did," Gaara grinned and grabbed her right hand in his, lightly. She interlocked their fingers and grinned.

"I had a lot of fun," She smiled. Her mind was racing at the words in her head.

"I did too. I'm really glad you came out here for me," He smiled again and leaned down slowly. Hinata met him half way and they kissed for a couple of minutes before pulling away. "Hopefully we can hang out again before school starts," She nodded with a sigh and leaned into him, wrapping her arms around him in a tight hug.

"I hope so too," She pulled away slowly after he had returned the hug, and waved slightly sadly. He waved as well and watched as she walked over to the passenger side of Shino's car, and sighed as the car pulled out of the driveway.

* * *

A/n: I'm very questionable on how I feel about this chapter, I may end up changing it up later on. I've never really played around with motocross stuff, so that's why there is slim to no action about it. Thanks for reading, and let me know what you think!


	28. Chapter 28

I Wonder What It's Like

Chapter 28

Hinata found herself sighing as she glanced at the invitation in her hands. She hadn't gotten an invitation to this party in years, and was questioning whether or not she should even go. Every year at the end of July, Kiba would throw a huge end of the summer party. He threw it a couple of weeks early so people had a couple of weeks to get over their massive hangovers. A little crazy, yes, but it also gave people a chance to do their own thing before school started again too. She put the invitation on her nightstand and traded it for her cell phone. Shino had already texted her, asking if she was considering it. She closed out of his text and hoped Gaara would answer her soon.

After twenty minutes of waiting, Gaara answered her question, and she found herself pouting. Apparently, his dad was having some sort of business dinner that night. She groaned to herself and called Shino. Once he answered she gave no hesitation in her question, "Are you going to go?"

"I feel like if we don't go," His voice was quiet and the pause did not help with her straining her ears for his answer. "He will get beyond annoying."

Hinata groaned quietly, she knew Shino was right. It wasn't in Kiba's personality to give up without a fight…or to give up in any way. "True. When are we going to show up?" She asked while placing her free hand over her eyes.

"It starts at six, if we get there around eight, we can make our presences known and then find a way to sneak out," Shino reasoned quietly. She could almost see the look on his face in her head. She thought it over for a few minutes before agreeing quietly. It was five o'clock now, so she had three hours to be able to physically and mentally prepare for the party. "See you at 7:45."

* * *

Hinata ran her fingers through her hair one last time before she walked down the stairs to meet Shino out front. She smoothed her denim skirt, she had her phone in her right pocket and her keys and ID in her left. She walked up to Shino's car, and let herself in to see him in khakis and a black t-shirt.

"You look nice," He stated as he took in her black tube top, the strap to her bathing suit around her neck, denim skirt and ankle boots. "Trying to be prepared if you get thrown in the pool?"

Hinata shook her head and smiled gently. "More so being safe, in case I want to take a dip. I know it's not likely but I remember swimming in his pool as a kid," She watched Shino's brows furrow as he remembered the past memories in Kiba's pool.

"True. I debated wearing swim trunks," Shino mentioned before going back to the silence as he drove towards the block that had cars parked all along the street, with music blaring from the Inuzuka residence. "Ready for hell?" He asked as he found a spot. Hinata let out a soft sigh and nodded.

* * *

The two made their way up to the door and shared a look before Hinata rung the doorbell. Hinata spent the moment at the door wondering if the bell was heard over the pulsating music. Her thoughts were answered when Kiba answered the door with a red plastic cup in his hand. She watched as his face lit up with a smile at the sight and he threw the door open. "Come on in. Thanks for coming!"

Hinata walked in first and felt her nose wrinkle up at the trifecta of smells. Between the smell of liquor, weed and perfumes/colognes, she could only imagine what was going on in the bedrooms of the house. She stepped to the side and waited as Shino stepped in. Kiba put his cup down and looked at the two with a bigger smile on his face. "So let me show you around," And before the two could say anything he was already heading off towards the kitchen with Hinata's hand in his left and Shino following to stay within Hinata's hearing range. Kiba went on to show the two different rooms filled with different things. The kitchen was where the keg and all the other liquor was, the living room was where a large group of the guests were watching videos and pulling out game systems to play video games. The basement was where a good group of people were playing alcohol games such as beer pong, two people were playing foosball and a couple of people were playing pool. The last place that he showed before letting them do as they please, was the backyard where people were partying and enjoying the in ground pool.

* * *

Kiba brought the two back to the kitchen to allow them to get drinks. "I'm really happy you guys came," He smiled. "Help yourselves to whatever you'd like," He smiled at the two again before getting called away by Naruto about the music playing. Hinata and Shino shared a glance. She shrugged and opened the fridge for a bottle of water. Shino grabbed a red plastic cup and filled it with the Miller Lite beer from the keg. The two shared a look and sighed before wandering out of the kitchen.

Shino mumbled something about needing a breath of fresh air, and disappeared before Hinata could follow behind him. She grumbled under her breath and walked into the living room. She found an empty seat and walked over and sat down. She glanced around and felt her nose wrinkle at Neji and Tenten making out in the corner. She glanced around the rest of the room and found herself rolling her eyes as she noticed other people from her school acting like idiots, one of which was Naruto dancing on a table, trying to get girls to come up and dance with him.

She shook her head laughing, wondering how on earth she could have been attracted to such a goofball. She glanced over at the wall and felt herself start to stare off into space until she felt her lap get wet. She looked up to see Sakura looking fake apologetic. "Oh, I am so sorry. I didn't see you there," She stated in her fake sweet voice. "What are you doing here anyway? Kiba couldn't possibly have invited you. And even if he did, you don't usually come to the parties. So why don't you scurry on home and read a book or something?"

Hinata slowly stood up and glared at Sakura. "Kiba was my friend way before he even looked at you, and I'm surprised you aren't at home with one of these guys already," She smirked as Sakura removed her hand from her hip and clenched her fist. "Oh wait, they are probably aware that if they sleep with you they're just going to end up in a doctor's office with mono or some sort of STD," Hinata felt her smirk widen as Sakura looked even more angry.

"You watch your mouth you little bitch," Sakura sneered. "Everyone knows the only reason you have a boyfriend is pure dumb luck," She clenched her fists at her side. "And we all know that isn't going to last much longer anyways. Just you wait, by the end of the first week of school, he'll be all mine," Sakura announced with a smirk slowly finding its way back onto her face.

"That's funny. He's mentioned that he'd never be interested in a bitch like you," Hinata stated firmly despite the fact that she would be nervous until she saw Gaara again. "I mean honestly, what kind of serious relationship have you had in the last year or so? After Sasuke dumped your ass for Karin, guys haven't been putting up with your nonsense," Hinata found herself smirking as Sakura's cheeks started turning red.

"You're going to be sorry you ever stepped foot into this party." Sakura announced as she brought her fist up and went to throw the first punch.

* * *

A/n: I wasn't sure whether I should add more or just try and get this posted. I work the rest of the week and then most likely Sunday and Monday. So I won't have much free time to get the next chapter worked on and posted. And unfortunately, the following week will be about preparing for the Fourth of July party my family holds. I'm also going to have a work schedule mixed in with that. And after that, I need to make sure I'm prepared to leave for vacation, I'm going to be gone July 10th through the 24th to visit my best friend.

Sorry that I'm rambling, I just wanted to give a reasonable explanation for the reasons behind the slow updates during the next couple of months. Thanks for reading, let me know what you think, and I will try to update as soon as possible.


	29. Chapter 29

I Wonder What It's Like

Chapter 29

Hinata stumbled back into the couch and rolled to the side as Sakura pulled back to punch again. She crouched and slid her leg across the ground, tripping Sakura. "This isn't something to do inside," Hinata growled as she wiped her hand across her mouth. She went to walk away, but the minute she got out to the back, she was shoved from behind and fell onto the concrete by the pool. She groaned as she felt her knees get scraped up. Before she knew what was happening, Hinata had been shoved into the pool. And now, she was pissed.

Hinata swam up to the surface and took a breath. She swam up behind Sakura who was bragging about having beat Hinata, and yanked her left ankle and found herself smiling as she heard her crash onto the hard cement deck. Hinata used the time Sakura spent making sure she was okay to pull herself out of the pool. "Aw, you fell," Hinata muttered with a smile as Sakura pushed herself up.

"You really think you can beat me?" Sakura asked and then started rambling off the reasons that there was no way in _**hell **_that Hinata could ever beat Sakura Haruno. Some of which were her popularity and her beauty and a bunch of other bull shit reasons.

Sakura didn't look like she was going to stop any time soon. Hinata shook her head and clenched her right fist, and without a second thought clocked Sakura in the face, smiling at the fact that the force of it was enough to know the pink haired demon on her ass. "What was that?" Hinata asked with a smile. She took a step back as Sakura stood up. Now that she was expecting Sakura as a fighter, she could work on defending herself and then working on knocking Sakura out if she didn't want to stop.

Sakura wiped at her mouth and spit out a bit of blood. She raised her hands and looked ready to claw Hinata's eyes out. Hinata knocked Sakura's hands down and then jumped to the side when Sakura went to charge at her again and found herself laughing as Sakura fell into the pool. "You BITCH!"

Sakura climbed out of the pool, and when she went to hit Hinata, she ducked out of that way and then punched her in the face and watched as the girl fell back into the pool. As Sakura was climbing out again, Naruto, Sasuke, Shino and a random group of people came closer to watch the fight. "Hinata," She heard Shino call out, and she looked over to see him just in time to end up on the ground with Sakura on top of her punching her in the face and stomach as hard as she could. Hinata took a shaky breath and managed to get her arms up in front of her face to block the hits. She reached up and grabbed Sakura's neck, she watched the girl's emerald eyes widen and took the moment to use the momentum and flip them so she was on top.

She punched Sakura in the face once more before taking her head and slamming it into the cement, Hinata stood up as Sakura slowly lost consciousness and took the moment to wipe her bloody lip. She turned to Shino as Kiba walked up. "I'm done. Let's go," She stated as she sneered in Sakura's direction.

"Hinata…What happened?" Kiba asked concerned before looking down at Sakura.

"I put her in her place when she went to attack me," Hinata stated coldly. "This party doesn't change anything, Kiba," She stated icily as she walked towards the gate to the front of the house with Shino.

"Hinata, Shino," Kiba called after them, but felt that following them wouldn't do any good. He watched them leave and then looked back at Sakura. He sighed knowing he couldn't just leave her there, so he picked her up and took her to a guest bedroom to lay down.

* * *

The drive back to the Hyuuga residence was silent. Shino wasn't sure how to start a conversation up with Hinata, he had never seen her in a fight before. He knew she would be able to hold her own, but he had never known her to fight back if and when people started anything with her. She'd take the high road and try to walk away. And if she was feeling down or like she deserved it, she let the person keep hitting her until they were finished.

He pulled into her driveway and watched as she slowly got out of the car. She waved and walked up to her door and let herself in. Shino sighed and pulled out and headed to his own home. Hinata walked up to her room quietly and closed her door behind her. She changed out of her wet clothes and grabbed her old cell phone from her top dresser drawer. She placed the necessary cards from her soaked phone into her old phone and started it up. She watched as a couple of texts from Gaara popped up and sighed. Without a second thought, she hit the call button and flopped down on her bed.

"Hello?" He sounded slightly concerned since the texts were from a couple of hours ago.

"Hi," She said quietly, finding herself smiling in no time. "Sorry, I kind of lost my phone for awhile."

"It's cool. So did you end up going to that party?" Gaara asked, and she could hear the curiosity in his voice.

"Yeah. It's how I managed to lose my phone. It got soaked and is now dead," She mumbled as she looked at the phone she had laying on her dresser. "I don't know if I should even attempt the rice trick or not," Hinata stated with a sigh.

"Well if it's insured, maybe you can just trade it up," Gaara suggested, and she found herself nodding.

"True. Well I'm going to go and blow dry my hair, I'll talk to you later," She told him with a smile on her face again.

"Talk to you later," Gaara said, and she heard the phone click as he hung up. She put the phone on her bed and walked into the bathroom to blow dry her hair. After managing to get it dried off, she walked back into her room and flopped onto her bed. She was going to be sore tomorrow, but she would not change any of her actions even if she could. Sakura deserved every bruise, cut and scrape that she got, and then some.

Without another thought, she turned off her lights and went to bed.

* * *

The next morning Hinata woke up sore. She made her way to the bathroom and looked in to the mirror. She had a fat lip and a small cut on her cheek, thankfully there weren't any other obvious indications that she was in a fight the night before. She had a couple of scrapes on her knees, and a bruise here or there, but nothing that overly horrifying.

She touched the cut on her cheek and shrugged it off. She started her shower and stripped out of her pajamas. After a relaxing, hot shower, Hinata found herself sitting in the living room watching a movie that was on. Her mind went back to the night before, the group of people that gathered around her while her and Sakura went at it. How was this going to affect the school year that was about to start?

* * *

A/n: So I know this is short, but I wanted to update. Now that I'm with my friend, I'm going to try and work on updates while she's at work, but don't hold your breath. I'm sorry. Thanks for reading and let me know what you think, I will try to work on updates.


	30. Chapter 30

I Wonder What It's Like

Chapter 30

Hinata said her goodbyes to her cousin and sister as she walked out the front door and towards the curb that Gaara was waiting for her on. She pulled on the helmet that he offered her and then got on behind him and wrapped her arms around his waist as they headed for Konoha High. It had been about a week since Kiba's party, and Hinata had avoided pretty much every one of her friends. The only way she would talk with them is via text message, and even that was very limited. She looked up over his shoulder as they pulled into the parking lot, and she sighed softly. She didn't feel ready to be back at school, even if it was technically her last year of schooling before college.

The two got off his motorcycle and she took off her helmet and handed it to Gaara. The two made their way into the field house and split ways to go pick up their schedules by showing their school IDs for the year. The two met back up by the door and looked over their schedules for the first quarter of the first semester. "Doesn't look too horrible," She mumbled before glancing over at his schedule. "We have AP Psych, lunch, and study hall together."

"Yeah, I can't get myself to take dance with you, sorry," He chuckled as she smiled at his response.

"Fair enough. At least it's the same period?" She asked with a shrug. "And we'll see each other on cardio days," She reasoned with a laugh.

He nodded with a shrug and the two headed off towards their first class, AP Psychology. They walked in and sat down at desks near each other and waited for the other students to file in and the teacher to begin on what first days usually consisted of. After a few minutes, everyone was at the front of the class and the teacher was assigning seats. Hinata sighed the minute the woman said it was going to be alphabetical, that put her right behind Sakura, and put Gaara off in the corner.

She walked to her seat and sat behind Sakura without a word. She glanced around to see who else was in their class and found herself sighing. She was stuck in a class with a bunch of people she didn't really care for. She felt bad for Gaara who was sitting right in front of Sasuke with Ino right behind Sasuke. She was thankful to have Shikamaru behind her but kind of bummed that Shino had this class a different period. The teacher handed out the syllabuses and the book rental sheets and just gave a feel for the class as students walked up to grab a text book. The teacher was very adamant in her words about the class being college level and that the work would be hard, and that if the students were not prepared they would need to drop the class.

After getting books assigned, and her little speech, the bell rang and class was over. Hinata stayed seated and waited for Sakura to leave the room before standing. She met up with Gaara near the door and they headed off down the hall towards the locations of their next classes.

* * *

Hinata felt herself getting frustrated. She was in good classes because she was smart, her only problem, Sakura was in every class she had been to. Sakura wasn't saying anything or doing anything to annoy her, but Hinata knew that was not going to last very long. It was time for dance and thankfully, the only girl associated with Sakura that Hinata had in her class, was Ino. She did what she could to stay away from Ino and then walked into the locker room to change out of her gym clothes. The next two periods were lunch and study hall.

She walked into the cafeteria and went straight to her usual spot. She sat right next to the wall and tucked her back pack next to her. Within the next five minutes she felt someone sit next to her and looked up to see Gaara. She smiled at him and went back to picking around at her food. She looked up to see Shino sitting across from her and smiled brighter. "So how have your classes been?"

"Not bad, although I have Kiba and Naruto in a lot of them," He sighed quietly.

"At least you don't have Sakura in almost every class," She muttered as Sakura walked past with Ino, heading towards their usual table. "I think the only class I've had all day that she hasn't been in is Dance."

"She is in our gym period though, she's in my class," Gaara stated with a long sigh. "I swear to god, someone needs to cut down her ego."

The group nodded as they heard Sakura start butchering the story of what happened at the party. When Hinata had heard enough and was about to walk over and tell Sakura to either tell the truth or shut up, Kiba surprised all of them. "That's not the truth and you know it. Hinata knocked you out after you went after her, I heard about the whole spilled drink thing, you provoked her and she defended herself. You're just being a bitch," He held his hand up when Ino went to say something, "And if you try to defend Sakura's actions, I'm done. I'm not going to date someone who is going to sit here and defend their friend provoking a fight and then lying about it because she didn't come out on top. Neither of you know Hinata that well, and making up lies about her is complete and utter bullshit."

Ino shut her mouth immediately and rolled her eyes when Sakura called her a bitch and went on to go off on Kiba. "Who do you think you are, speaking to me like that?"

Hinata had walked up at this point and was looking at Sakura. "He's right though. You don't know me. The only reason you started throwing a fit was the fact that the new kid, who you were talking shit about with Ino on the first day, didn't like you like that. You have no right to talk to me like that, and Kiba is just calling you out for things that everyone else should have a long time ago."

"It's not my fault some people won't stand up for themselves," Sakura sneered at her.

"They shouldn't have to stand up for themselves. I don't know why you're this horrible to people, but if you keep it up, you'll be lucky if you still have one friend left." Hinata stated firmly before turning back to her table and sitting down next to Gaara.

Sakura glared evilly towards Hinata as Ino spoke up. "She's right. If you're going to keep calling me stupid and a bitch for not taking your side, I'm not going to want to be friends with you anymore. I know I laugh it off and just insult you back, but it still hurts," Ino stated with her own icy glare pointed towards Sakura. She stood up and walked over to the table Hinata was sitting at and sat down a seat or two away from Shino.

Kiba smirked at the look on Sakura's face and then walked over and politely asked if it would be okay if he sat next to Shino and at their table in general before taking a seat there. When Sakura took a glance around at her table, the only people still sitting there were Sasuke, Karin and Shikamaru, who had been asleep at the table before anyone else had gotten there, and Choji was sitting there because Shikamaru was there.

Hinata smiled and laughed as she joked around with Kiba. And Sakura looked up as he asked, "So am I doing a little better on being a friend… Or at least an acquaintance?" He looked sorry and genuinely nervous as he rubbed the back of his head.

"I can see us being good friends again really soon," Hinata agreed with a smile. The group continued talking and laughing for the rest of the period making Sakura feel more and more frustrated with the situation at hand.


	31. Chapter 31

I Wonder What It's Like

Chapter 31

After school, Hinata wasn't all that surprised to find Sakura waiting by her locker for her. "What do you want, Sakura?" She asked without giving her a glance as she reached around her to put in her combination. She made sure she did it in a way that would keep Sakura from seeing the numbers she was putting in.

"You need to watch yourself, Hyuuga." Sakura threatened quietly, in an annoyed tone of voice.

Hinata could tell she was upset and wasn't about to back down. "Why, because I'm honest? No one likes the way you act Sakura, why do you think you haven't legit dated someone in awhile? Because they know you're good for sex and that's it. You can't be a real girlfriend with the way you act. And no one cares for your bitchy, 'I'm so perfect' attitude. Because you're not. No one is."

Sakura glared hatefully at Hinata as she walked over to Gaara and took his hand with a smile. She glanced back at Sakura and shrugged.

"She's right you know," A freshman mentioned from next to her. "All the lower grades think you're a skanky, bitchy whore. Some of them even think they can pay for your sex," When Sakura glared angrily at the freshman, he went running off and the people around her just kind of stared at her.

Hinata and Gaara shared a glance as they walked out to his motorcycle. "Whoa, that's gonna hurt her ego," He mumbled as Hinata pulled on her helmet. She nodded and got on behind him. "It was good to see, though." He grinned even though no one could see it.

The two made their way back to her house and he parked in the driveway to let her off. Hinata paused as she took the helmet off. "You want to come in and work on homework together?" She asked as she played with her hands.

"Isn't your dad and cousin home?" He asked with a slight frown.

She sighed and nodded. "This is very true."

"It's probably not a good idea. We'll hang out or go out sometime soon though, okay?" Gaara asked as he smiled gently. Hinata nodded and sighed slightly. "Or we can go back to my house and do it?"

Hinata found herself smiling in no time. She put the helmet back on her head and got back on the motorcycle and found herself smiling at her father's horrified expression in the front window as Gaara started pulling out of the driveway.

* * *

Hinata had sent a text telling her father she wouldn't be home for dinner and ended up staying over at Gaara's for an ordered pizza as the two watched a movie on the couch. After checking the time, she sighed. "It's almost nine, you should probably take me home."

"Yeah, I'd rather not have your father kill me or call in any favors," Gaara joked as he slowly stood up. He held his hand out to Hinata and gently pulled her up. He glanced into her eyes and then tilted her head up so she was looking at him and closed the distance between their faces and kissed her gently. He was about to pull away when he felt her arms wrap around his neck as she deepened the kiss. His hands found their way to her hips as they stood there.

When she pulled away they just stared deeply into each other's eyes. "We should do that more often," She joked to break the silence. She watched as he just nodded. "Well, we should get going," She stated after a moment and looked away as she felt her cheeks start to heat up.

"Uh, yeah," He mumbled and started walking towards the door. He still had his wallet in his back pocket, all he needed to grab was his keys. He called out to Kankuro to let him know he was leaving and then headed out the door with Hinata following behind him.

After the short ride to take Hinata home ended, it left her staring at him with the motorcycle helmet in her hands from the porch. He held up his hand and started up his bike again. She waved and let herself in the front door. She didn't find herself very surprised to find her father waiting for her in the living room.

"Hello, Father," She stated quietly. "Can you make this quick? I'm going to bed."

"Who do you think you are, speaking to me like that?" He asked angrily. "And do you know what time it is?"

Hinata pulled out her phone and saw the time. "It's 9:30. And I simply asked a question. You know nothing about Gaara other than the fact that he's a boy. You seem to be freaking out over nothing, and if you could stay relaxed for more than a few minutes, I would have invited him in our home so that he and I could do homework. He pointed out that you were probably home, and then offered that we could do it at his house instead since his brother was home, and wouldn't freak out like you would have."

She could almost feel the intensity of her father's glare. "You're grounded."

"That's fine. It's not like you're home enough to actually back that up. Plus, when I turn eighteen, I no longer have to live under your roof," She stated blatantly. "Goodnight, Father." She turned on her heel and walked up to her bedroom as her father fumed in the living room.

* * *

When Hinata made it to her bedroom, she found herself smiling. She was able to stand up to her father and hadn't felt scared. It was an amazing feeling, and she loved that every word she had said was true, so he couldn't dispute it very well. She glanced across the room at her mirror and grinned at her reflection before sending a quick goodnight text to Gaara and starting on the quick list of things she did every night before she went to bed.

* * *

A/n: I know it's short, and to be honest I wasn't quite sure what I wanted to do with this chapter other than give Sakura what she had coming to her by the way of words. I also thought it was important that Hinata showed her father that she could stand up to him. The next update may take awhile, I need to figure out what I want to do. All I know for sure is possibly having it go up to Hinata's 18th birthday, and her choices concerning everything. But other than that, I'm not quite sure what I want to do. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated, and if I can't think of anything, the next chapter may end up being a slight skip or a quick run through of a couple of things that happens in the next 'months' in this story.

Thanks for reading, and sorry for the hold up. I've had some set backs that started back in early August, and have been completely brain dead when it's come to what to do with this story. So as mentioned earlier, suggestions for what should possibly happen would be amazing!


	32. Chapter 32

I Wonder What It's Like

Chapter 32

Hinata made her way down the stairs and found herself shocked to see her father was home and waiting at the dining room table. "Father," She stated softly as she made her way towards the kitchen. She poured herself a bowl of cereal, added milk and joined him silently at the table. "Is there a reason you're still at home, and not at the office?" She asked with a small frown.

"I told you that you were grounded. And that means from seeing him. So for the length of your punishment, I will be your ride to and from school. I can take care of all my office problems from home, so it won't be a problem to keep an eye on you during your punishment. Now hurry up, we're leaving in fifteen minutes." Hiashi stated without a second thought.

Hinata sighed. She found herself wishing that he had given her a timeline for the punishment the previous night. She finished her breakfast and made herself a lunch. She grabbed her things and followed her father out to his car and got in. She had a feeling it was going to be a long week.

* * *

Hinata walked onto the campus and glanced back at the car she had stepped out of. She waved halfheartedly, and headed for the front doors. She walked up to her locker and gave a small, fake smile to Kiba.

"What's wrong?" Kiba asked knowing the fake smile very well.

"My dad grounded me for being out later than he would have liked last night," Hinata stated with a glare towards the floor. "He didn't give a time line, so I have a feeling it's going to be for the rest of this year or until Gaara stops coming around or something," She sighed as she slammed her locker shut with more aggression than necessary. "I'm so sick of this."

"I don't know what to tell you, Hina, I mean my mom can be a bitch, but she's never had a stick up her ass like your dad," Kiba stated as he rubbed the back of his neck with a sigh. "Maybe you can make him think you and Gaara aren't going out anymore or something?"

"That's just going to make things worse," Hinata stated with a sigh. "If he finds out that I 'lied' I'd be in more trouble than I am now. I think he's just angry that I stood up to him last night. I actually told him off," She shrugged.

"You've come a long way from the stuttering, shy girl I knew in elementary school," Kiba smiled as he ruffled her hair to express how proud he was. He wrapped his arm around her shoulder and pushed slightly to get her to start walking. "Let's get you to class. No need to get into any more trouble. And don't worry, you only have to deal with him for a little while longer. In a year you'll be eighteen and can make your own decisions."

He stopped by the door to her classroom and took his arm from her shoulders. She looked up at Kiba and smiled brightly. "Thanks Kiba, you've grown a lot too. You're not still the kid who always gets into fights with Naruto to see who can be the most obnoxious," She stated with a teasing look in her eyes.

Kiba rolled his eyes at the girl in question. "Get to class before I show you just how loud I can be," He smirked as she laughed and walked into her class room. "Don't let the princess get you down," He called in after her referring to the pink-haired girl sitting at the desk in front of hers.

"I won't. See you at lunch," She called out to Kiba and made her way to her desk before the bell could ring.

* * *

After suffering through classes for the first half of the school day, it was finally lunch time and Hinata was thankful. Gaara was absent for the day and had sent her a text saying he had to be at some sort of event for his father's company and he'd be back the following day. She hadn't questioned it and had just told him she was grounded and her father would be driving her to and from school for the term of the punishment. She made her way to a table and sat down. Shino would be joining her soon and she wasn't sure who else would make their way up to her.

She cursed her luck when Sakura stopped by to talk. "So where's Gaara today? Finally figure out that you're not worth his time?" She smiled sweetly at Hinata.

"What does it matter to you, it's not like he'd waste any of his time on you." Hinata stated with a smug smile. "Besides, don't you have more important things to get to?" She gestured to the table where Sasuke and Karin were sitting and talking. "He seems really into Karin, so the big question should be, what does Karin have that you don't? I think Naruto's even taken a liking to her." Hinata stated with a smile as Naruto walked up and grinned at Karin and Sasuke and took a seat with them. "Has Karin taken your spot as one of their best friends?" Hinata asked with a fake smile that could rival Sai's.

Sakura was about to answer when Kiba and Shino walked up and sat on either side of Hinata.

"That's funny, I mean look…Ino is hanging out with Shikamaru and Choji, Kiba and Shino are here with me… You seem to be the only one who hasn't been able to keep best friends along the way," Hinata paused when she saw the hurt look in Sakura's eyes. "It doesn't feel good being put down, does it? Maybe you should stop being a brat to everyone and just be yourself. If they don't like you for you, they're not worth it." Hinata stated firmly and finally broke from her stare down with Sakura.

"She's right," Shino added quietly as Hinata looked over at Kiba and laughed at something stupid he had pointed out. "The Sakura I knew before I left for my project was nice to everyone, one of the few popular people that weren't stuck up and bitchy. What happened to her?" Shino asked and then looked away from her to join Kiba and Hinata in their joking.

Sakura stood there in shock. Shino had never been one to say many words, yet he took a moment to say all of that to her. She felt angry that she realized that both he and Hinata had been right. While her former classmates from elementary school were all having fun with the best friends they had managed to keep, she was the only one looking around trying to find a spot to sit and fit in with the groups at the table.

* * *

Hinata gathered her things from her locker and walked out front. She sighed at the sight of her dad's car and started heading for it when she felt a hand on her shoulder stop her. She was shocked to end up staring up into Sakura's bright emerald green eyes. "I owe you an apology," Sakura stated with a frown. "You were right. I let jealousy get to me, and I let my popularity get to my head. I'm really sorry for everything I did to you, and I'd like to be friends if there's still a chance for that."

Hinata stared up at the girl in front of her and thought about it for a minute. Was Sakura being honest, or was this all some joke to her? Was it some kind of scheme to get close and then be hurtful again? Hinata closed her eyes for a moment and thought back. Shino had been right with his words. Sakura used to be a caring person, was there a chance that caring person was still in her? Hinata shook her head and looked back at Sakura. "I'm only going to give you one chance, okay?"

Sakura nodded. "Sounds fair. Thanks for the chance, Hinata. I'll see you tomorrow." Sakura smiled gently and walked off towards the student parking lot for her car.

Hinata shook off her confusion and started walking for her father's car. Had one of the most popular people in school just apologized to her? One of the top nerds in school. One of the biggest outcasts? Hinata was in awe and found herself too speechless to speak when she entered her father's car and he asked the simple question of how her day had been.

* * *

That night had been tense. She did her homework at the dining room table like she would as a child. Her father was sitting at the head of the table, observing her. She finished her homework and made dinner for everyone. She had barely spoken throughout dinner. Neji was talking about his classes in college while Hanabi listened intently. Her father would nod and put in his input here and there but for the most part it had been a silent evening.

Hinata got up and collected the dishes and went back into the kitchen to wash everything and put it away. She walked back in and said her goodnights and made her way up to her bedroom. She closed the door and changed into her pajamas. She found herself smiling when Gaara's ringtone filled the silence in her room. "Hey, you're never going to believe this, Sakura apologized to me today." Hinata stated once she knew the phone had been answered.

"That's good," Gaara sounded distracted. "Look, when I was with my dad today, he said something about wanting me to move back to Suna. I don't know whether he's going to actually go through with it or not, but I wanted to tell you before you could hear it from anyone else." Gaara stated firmly.

Hinata's eyes went wide as she stared at the wall. She felt her eyes start to tear up and shook her head. "Oh," was all she could manage to get out. She hoped her voice hadn't sounded as shaky as she felt.

"I'm sorry. We can talk more about it tomorrow, I actually have to go now. I'll talk to you tomorrow. Goodnight, Hinata," Gaara stated quietly.

"Goodnight."

* * *

A/n: So I've been super busy with work and other things. I also had no idea what I wanted to do with this story. I got a couple of ideas from reviews, but now I just need to get back into gear and figure out what I want to do. The plus side, my document is longer than the last couple of chapters have been. Thanks for reading.

Please review and let me know how I did.


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